Another Vickerman's China Adoption Story

The Vickerman Family Happenings: On November 12th & 13th, we are hosting an Orph...

2010-10-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

The Vickerman Family Happenings:

On November 12th & 13th, we are hosting an Orph...: "On November 12th & 13th, we are hosting an Orphan Conference called 'Heart For The Fatherless' at our church (Calvary Chapel Tri-Cities)...."

The Vickerman Family Happenings: Maylynn's first "Big Pumpkin Patch"... Last w...

2010-10-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

The Vickerman Family Happenings: Maylynn's first "Big Pumpkin Patch"...

Last w...: "Maylynn's first 'Big Pumpkin Patch'... Last week Maylynn and I joined her preschool friends for a trip to the pumpkin patch. She had S..."

The Vickerman Family Happenings: Maylynn's First Day of PreschoolFinally! Maylynn...

2010-09-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

The Vickerman Family Happenings: Maylynn's First Day of Preschool

Finally! Maylynn...: "Maylynn's First Day of Preschool Finally! Maylynn was so excited for her first day of school on Thursday! She is going to the preschool tha..."

The Vickerman Family Happenings: Small World/Lifeline Agency Reunion All the kid...

2010-08-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

The Vickerman Family Happenings: Small World/Lifeline Agency Reunion

All the kid...: "Small World/Lifeline Agency Reunion All the kids together for a group picture Maylynn, Lily & Hayleigh Hayleigh, Rebecca & Maylynn Ou..."

Happy Gotcha Day!

2010-07-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

Maylynn in China - July 2009

Maylynn now - July 2010

Today is the day that God blessed our family with Maylynn one year ago! It has been a whirl wind of a year and God has showed me many things with this adoption but i will go into that another day. Today I am reflecting on how Maylynn is now compared to last year...

July 27, 2009: She was such a sad little girl and would only cling to her daddy. She seemed to be super smart. She ate everything we would give her. She was so cute when putting her to bed - we would just lay her down and she was very particular with making sure that her blanket was laying flat and covering her just so. She didn't speak chinese much but understood everything our guide would tell her. She screamed when i would touch, look or speak to her. She didn't like taking a bath or shower - cried:( Would only allow Lance to get her dressed. When she'd look at me, she would cry. She enjoyed watching her chinese cartoons: she-yang-yang (not sure how to write it in chinese) it was about a little sheep and a goat and she liked that Sing & Dance with Mei Mei video i brought. Basically, she was a very sad little girl who cried about everything...

Today:

She seems to be a very happy little girl although quite moody (the moodiest in our family). When she gets upset or mad now, she knows to go to her room (sometimes slamming the door behind her- oh boy) and can come out when she's happy.
She loves to take a bath - showers are not her preference but last night was the first night that she took a shower without complaints and she was the first one to point that out to us! :)
She is super smart - she knows how to count up to 10 very good, knows her colors, loves to read, loves to color, loves to play with playdough, loves to do puzzles, likes to write the letter "M" for her name, loves to play house with her sister with her babies.
She has to sleep with a baby everynight.
She can finally open doors - it took her forever to figure this out and would get SO SO frustrated!
She doesn't complain when I brush her teeth or do her hair.
She can get dressed by herself - but sometimes complains that she can't do it... i usually tell her that i think she can and to try harder -she usually get upsets - stomps to her room to her room to cry about it and then tries harder and does it - she'll come out with a HUGE smile on her face! :)
She's pretty good about eating everything that we give her - she loves fruit the best, noodles and candy!
She NEVER stops talking! and many times i wish that there was an off switch. She speaks in complete sentences however, due to her repaired cleft palate has some difficulty with her speech b/c her palate is short and some sounds are nasally - she may have some help with speech therapy this year. When she slows down and tries to say the word correctly, it sounds good but when she is in conversations and talking fast, she forgets to close her palate on some sounds...
She goes to sleep on her own and takes really good naps - she will even nap at her brothers activities if i lay her in my arms:) Love this b/c she REALLY needs her sleep - it helps with her moodiness!
She walks super slow and is often the "pokeyiest" in our family.
She likes to swim in grandma & pa's pool and will jump in with no help!
She likes to scooter down the street with her sister.
She still gets super nervous going to the Dr., dentist etc... and gets upset with new situations.
When she smiles her face lights up - you can definately tell what kind of "mood" she is in by the look on her face
She LOVES her family!
She gives great hugs!
She makes us laugh:)
She has some special friends that she enjoys playing with at church.
She is really looking forward to going to preschool this year.
She loves to rock a bye
She loves to sing - her favorite songs are: Jesus Loves Me, ABC, Jesus Loves the Little Children, Itsy Bitsy Spider, I love you so much, twinkle twinkle, You are my sunshine, The Barney - i love you song.
The best thing of all (i think:)) is that she LOVES her mommy!

Maylynn Turns 3!

2010-04-19T19:55:00.001-07:00

Maylynn's biggest brother had a birthday too - he turned 14 and Maylynn 3 -just wanted to be sure that you didn't think she was 143;) hehe

At the park for her party....

Please visit our family website for details!

Maylynn's First Trip to Disneyland!

2010-04-04T13:57:00.001-07:00

DSC_6174
Originally uploaded by hayleighsmom

Visit our family website for the story and visit our picture website to see the fun that we had!

Maylynn Chinese New Year 2010

2010-03-14T15:13:00.001-07:00

Maylynn Chinese New Year 2010
Originally uploaded by hayleighsmom

Even though Chinese New Year was over a month ago - this post is better late than never!

We had a fun time meeting up with other families from our area for a potluck. It's always so much fun watching all of the kids run around and catching up with the families.

Maylynn is fitting in perfectly with our family. Her language has increased so, so much - i'm amazed. Some of the phrases she says just tickles me:) Sometimes her pronunciation isn't quite clear but I can understand her. She loves to learn! She loves singing, loves reading books to herself, loves to count to 15ish, loves to sing the ABC's, loves to color and draw. She can't wait until she goes to preschool next year. She also has her stubborn moments but she's learning what she needs to do.

I am looking forward to her first birthday with us next month. So far, i'm just planning on a little party with some of her buddies - can't wait!

Post Op smiles

2010-01-16T15:55:00.001-08:00

Maylynn was all smiles after her procedure... We hung out in the new pediatric unit for about and hour and a half - it was really nice! We also enjoyed seeing some familiar faces from church:) Hayleigh's Wed. nite teacher "Miss Amber" works there as a Childlife something or other...

Post Op smiles
Originally uploaded by hayleighsmom

E.T. phone home

2010-01-16T15:54:00.001-08:00

Sorry - i just realized these posts are going in reverse order...

E.T. phone home
Originally uploaded by hayleighsmom

Popsicle fun

2010-01-16T15:52:00.001-08:00

Popsicle fun
Originally uploaded by hayleighsmom

Maylynn had her tubes put in yesterday. She's had fluid in her ears ever since we were able to clear the wax out. She did great - the only tears she had was when I had to hand her over to the nurse:( She came out of recovery wonderfully.

Dedication Day

2009-11-29T18:50:00.000-08:00

We had Maylynn dedicated on November 15th. This was a special day - almost 1 year ago we had first seen her picture and knew that she would be our daughter. Now we were dedicating her to our Lord - promising to raise her with God's word with the hopes that one day she would choose to follow Him on her own...

We all went up on stage - she did fine for a few minutes and she allowed Pastor Steve to hold her for a very short time! As you can see, she started crying and the only way i could get her to stop was to bribe her with some gum:) So, i really didn't get to hear the special prayer that was said or anything else for that matter:( But, It was kinda cool because the sermon that day was about Romans Ch.8 and part of the lesson was about adoption! Isn't God's timing so awesome:)

Getting to know Maylynn...

2009-11-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

This post may be a little random and not orderly but we decided to brainstorm and share some things that we have learned about Maylynn and what she likes, acts etc... hope that you enjoy getting to know our little MayMay:)

You can tell what she's thinking by just looking at her face - her eyes & mouth are very expressive:)
She is a little "parrot" - repeating everything but not correctly
when she gets an owie - she always insists on a kiss
if you say anything to her she says "why"
she pretty much eats anything we give her but she is sometimes a little more selective than 4 months ago. She doesn't finish every morsel on her plate anymore -which is good b/c she is almost wearing a size 4 like her sister (we've gone from 24 months to size 4 clothes in 4 months!)
she still does the chinese thing when eating soup or anything in a bowl - when she gets down to the end, she'll try to drink it up and push it in her mouth with her spoon:)
she is very affectionate - loves to give and receive hugs & kisses and telling her m&d "i Love you"
she likes her babies! and to mother them too by wrapping them up in blankets or stroller them around:)
she now has her ears pierced like her sister, mom & grandmas
she loves playing in the bath tub, brushing her teeth & doesn't mind wearing lotion now:) & she is pretty good about me doing her hair...
she has gnarly bed head in the morning!
she's so smart & loves to count to 10.
she likes to sit and color, bead and read
she will hopefully get tubes in her ears soon. She's had fluid in her ears ever since we've had her home - they tell us that she hears us like we are talking under water -no wonder why her speach is so muffled... fluid in ears & repaired palate...
she likes to ride bikes & scooters
when none of her siblings are around to play with she enjoys playing with our dog "oreo"
all her brother needs to say is that she gets to go play with the "ladybugs" (the name of her class at church) and she'll burst into tears - although, once she's there it only takes 5 min. for her to settle down...
"be happy" is a phrase that she hears form us alot - she tends to have a sour looking face at times and just needs a gentle reminder to smile and be happy:) she immediately gives us her precious smile that lights up her face!
When traveling in the car on looooonnnng trips - she like to sleep with her pillow over her face.
she likes books & puzzles
her speach is nasally
she likes candy (who doesn't???)
she loves it when her grandparents visit!
when her hands/fingers get cold, she tells us that they are "owie"
she know almost ALL her bodyparts!
her belly laugh is so funny & usually gets everyone smiling and laughing:)
she loves it when her brothers chase her
her favorite songs are: Jesus Loves me, Jesus loves the little children, ABC's, and Toby Mac's new song "City on our Knees" :)
She falls down or bonks her head SEVERAL times a day! Brayden enjoys keeping count:)

That's all i can think of right now... i'll add to it later:)

Ladybugs

2009-10-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

Yeah! Maylynn is now an official "ladybug" at church. Ladybug is what the 2-3yr old group is called:)

Tuesday morning i took the girls to the club and left them at the "short stop" daycare while i did my kick boxing class (love the class!) This was a "first" for Maylynn to be left with anyone that is not related - she walked right in to play with her big sis and then cried after i said a quick goodbye. But I'm told that she only cried for 5 min - i felt good about the whole situation b/c she had Hayleigh with her:)

So, Wed. night - we/i decided that we should try the church nursery. Hayleigh is not in her class - so i was a bit hesitant but felt that it needed to be done. So, we both went in, i stayed a few minutes to explain to the teachers her language (or lack there of), that she's potty trained and what she calls it (most of the time it is neow, neow (Chinese for potty) but sometimes she says "motty" (English for potty))and that she likes men (a hint for the guy to help out with her;)). I told her good bye and tried to leave - she caught me in an amazing grabbing, fist clinching hold - i hugged her and told her that I'd be back - and the teachers helped to pry her off. I felt HORRIBLE -but i know it is a process and our church life will be so much more pleasant for everyone once she is in her class. After the worship, i snuck back to hear if she was okay and she was. She was so excited to see me at the end - it looked like she had a really good time - i do have to admit she gave me so many kisses that night all over my face when i was putting her to bed - i was amazed but LOVING it! I just let her kiss away...

Please pray that the process is successful on Sunday:)

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-26T14:51:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch on Saturday - we went to Job's nursery... a simple nursery with TONS of pumpkins! Not all of the pumpkin patch thrills of farm animals, hay bale mazes - just pumkins and tons of fun being out doors!

Maylynn had fun tromping around the patch and only ended up tripping once! this is amazing b/c she tends to fall several of times a day where ever she is! Brayden usually keeps track of the times that she falls:)

She is definatley attached! I think we are now going to try to leave her in the church nursery - please pray for us that it is a smooth transition!

I got this picture of Maylynn at the hotel for one of Taylor's tourney in Canada - i love that she loves to read and the sun was shining so bright on her...

2 Month update...

2009-09-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

Not sure if i'll remember to update this monthly etc. but it just so happens that 2 months ago from today is when we got Maylynn...

I am just amazed at how well she is doing! She has definately captured everyone's heart that has met her. Her smile lights up her face and her cheeks are so unbelievably kissable it's hard to stop kissing her once i've started:) Her hugs are so strong and she is so much fun to cuddle with:) She is very good at repeating EVERYTHING you say - (many times it is not clear but the tones etc. are there) It's so funny - i am trying to teach her many different phrases that are common when first meeting someone - she has "hi" down and "byebye" but i am working on her answering "How old are you?" - well, she just repeats me "how old are you" it's quite funny b/c then i'm trying to explain to her no no no - I say this... and you say this... it is only when i am able to do the same thing with Hayleigh that she kind of understands what she is supposed to do. Hayleigh has been such a good teacher (and bad at times - teaching her bad things - like today she taught her how to stick her tongue out at you if you don't like something - not sure where Hayleigh learned that but i am hoping to nip that in the bud asap!) And when we are trying to holler down to someone to do something etc... sure enough Maylynn is hollering the same thing and no one is able to hear or understand b/c her little voice is interupting etc... it's quite the scene:)

The girls are now separated for sleeping... we started to separate for naps a few weeks ago and that worked wonderfully! they were waking each other up and i could never get to the bottom of it as to who was waking up who! Now Hayleigh is sleeping in Brayden's top bunk at night time as well - they would talk constitanly and keep each other up until we went to bed at 10pm! This new arrangement is working out much better for everyone so far. We do have some space in our basement to finish a room if we need to but not sure where we will but the storage stuff that takes up that space - maybe we can hold off until next spring...

Just as easily as her smile lights up her face, she also has quite the pouter lip! It is rather pathetic and she really "works" it when we are around grandparents and friends! We have been just ingnoring it b/c it seems she is mostly doing it for attention - and she does get it from everyone - i should try to get a pic sometime - it is quite the lip!

She doesn't clean her plate anymore - many times now she will just eat what she likes and then says that she is done and expects to get up and leave the table - sometimes she gets upset but we haver her stay until we are finished or she has eaten a bit more for it to be considered her "meal" :)

She's had her hearing checked and that seems okay but 1 ear had fluid so we are waiting to get that one rechecked -i think?? Her eyes appt. went as good as it could considering her language abilities and her Thyroid tests came back okay. We just have to get her TB test this week at the health dept. and another round of shots on Friday...

Copied and pasted from The Vickerman Family Happenings (Posted on Sept.10)

The girls continue to act like sisters - I think Hayleigh still wishes that she was the only princess here sometimes. We are trying to "catch" Hayleigh being good and reward her for doing nice things, playing nicely etc... "Be nice" is the phrase in our house lately:) I really think that Hayleighs special time at preschool and gymnastics will be the very best thing for her - Maylynn was sure happy to see Hayleigh at the end of H. first day of preschool - it was so sweet and i could see that H. was a bit surprised to get all of the hugs from M.:) Maylynn is still learning the ropes but she is sure catching on. Her receptive language seems to be very good! I asked her in english where many of her body parts are and she did a GREAT job pointing to them! She was very pleased too:) She is such a sweet heart - we just love her so much! Tuesday she had a Dr. appt with a plastic surgeon to look at her cleft palate. He said that it looks repaired but a little short - so that is why she sounds so nasaly and will need speech therapy. He said that when she is much older, she'd probably have another surgery but nothing for a while. Since we were in Richland, we headed next door to the hospital to have MORE BLOOD drawn! I did not want to do it and almost didn't!! But, we did... and she cried her little heart out again for the 3rd time! this time she cried for Brayden - so sweet:) When we got home, as soon as she saw Lance - her lip drooped down and she held out her little owie - she did this routine for everyone in the family - it was quite the show:) Everyone was gracious to her and felt sorry for her:) lol:) Get this though! We got a phone call tonight that we have to have MORE BLOOD DRAWN AGAIN!!!! Apparantly a thyroid test that we just had done - one was pos. and one was neg. so - she has to get another! ugh!!!

New updates at our family blog...

2009-08-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

The Vickerman Family Happenings

Mom's gotcha week!

2009-08-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

This past week has been fabulous! Lance has enjoyed being able to walk and do things without his "cling-on" and I've been enjoying my new daughter:) She has kissed me, hugged me, snuggled with me, ran to me with open arms, let me take care of her when she's hurt - it has been such a joy! She has also been bonding alot with the kids - which is fun & sweet to see:)

We are not ready to let our "bonding & attachment" guard down yet though - Lance and I will be the only one holding her for the next few months... it is so important for her to understand that we are her only mommy and daddy forever!!

Maylynn's Gotcha Moment

2009-08-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

So... here is Maylynn's gotcha moment - it is totally opposite of Hayleigh's :( The person holding the camera is our guide and at one pt. during the taping he had to run over to get a document.

2009-08-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

2009-08-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

Home SWEET Home! - Aug. 6th (part 2) & Aug.8 update

2009-08-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

So... the plan was that we'd meet our family at Brayden's last swim meet but Hayleigh and Taylor (and i think maybe gma V.) couldn't wait - so, they too met us at the airport. It was so sweet to see Hayleigh FINALLY meet her LONG AWAITED sister - although she had just woken up from a nap in the car and was a bit overhwelmed and a little shy. We headed over to the meet - we had thought that Maylynn was going to have a fit getting into the carseat but she pleasantly surprised us with just a little "delayed" complaining:) As soon as we got to the meet, we snuck up on Brayden - he was happy to see us but a little embarassed by all of my hugging and kissing in front of his friends;) We then sat down with gpa v. to wait for Brayden's events - it wasn't long before Hayleigh wanted to go swing - there were 2 little swings just waiting for them - She quickly took Maylynn's hand and they were off - it was such a precious sight. They played almost the entire time together - just getting to know each other - it was so heart warming to see:) Maylynn also instantly accepted Taylor too - she quickly jumped into his lap! soo cute! I could see in Taylor's face that he too was pleased:) After the meet we grabbed some Little Ceasar's pizza (ohh - that pizza has never tasted soo good -yum!) we also had to make a pit stop at McD's for a few little gems:) We came home to a beautifully clean house!! It was so wonderful and i know that gma & pa V. and the kids worked really hard! The kids were eager to see what we had bought for them in China - then they had fun getting to know thier new sister. They really enjoyed hearing her sing her little songs etc...

Maylynn has done a MUCH better job adjusting and accepting the fact that she is not going to be living in Lance's arms. She does prefer the boys in the family but she is slowly warming up to me. I have been in charge of ALL of the care giving for her (and Hayleigh) Actually, it has been very helpful having H. show Maylynn that there is nothing to cry about while taking a bath, getting dressed, brushing hair, teeth and going potty - Maylynn actually understands now that this is a part of life and is accepting it. Our first night was alittle rough - M. woke up around 1:30 and cried and cried (i think for Lance) but he wasn't going to be coming - soon H. woke up and i told her to go get in bed with daddy -she quickly took me up on that but M. was a little more ticked that she was stuck with only ME! She had alittle fit for about 1-2hrs. (my touches or voice only made it worse - so i just rolled over and pretended to sleep - it worked!) I stayed with her until morning - i didn't want her to wake up again and be frightened with no one there. Last night went much better - both of the girls skipped their naps for the day and was asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow! and they didn't wake until morning - woohoo! I am praying that is the case for tonight -so far so good = 2 girls asleep:) Also, the past 2 nights i've had both girls in my lap for books - M. loves books - she just sits so good and listens - it amazes me b/c how can she understand a word i'm saying? - i'm hoping she is soaking all of the language in.

Tonight (Aug.8) we went to the neighborhood park and the girls had fun playing on the slides - well, we started a thing where when they went by they'd give me five, the next time it was 10 and the next time H. gave me 10 and a hug and M. quickly followed -it was so sweet - i just soaked it in - it was actually the very first time that SHE came to ME and gave me a hug and a little sweet pat on the back - she did it 3 times! I'll never forget this day:)

She is doing so much better but we are being very careful about who offers to hold her. We won't be putting her in the church nursery for a few months, or leaving her with a sitter - we really want her to understand that we are her main caregivers and the people that she needs to attach too. So, please don't be offended by us requesting people to not to offer to hold her - there will be a time but not yet:) The boys are loving her to death too and love to hold her and she'd prefer that they'd hold her instead of me but they have been so understanding to not hold their arms out to her when i am holding her. They have had plenty of opportunities to sit with her or carry her around though - H. too! although the "big sister" novelty is slowly wearing off and while they have a great time playing together there are times when M. just wants H. to leave her alone. And there are times when H. has a bit of jealousy - H. also has been extra sensitive so, i've been smothering her with hugs and kisses!! (Lance has too) Actually, the boys have been great in including H. in their playing with M - they are the best big brothers. I am just so amazed at them! Honestly, they really weren't too keen on the idea of adopting again but their hearts have QUICKLY changed! They love M. so much and Brayden even asked us yesterday if we could adopt again - our answer to that was "our table is full :)"

Maylynn has definately made a difference at our house and each day is getting better.

Also, i really want to thank EVERYONE for their prayers, words of encouragement and kind gestures through out our journey. Adoption is not as easy thing - as you have read there are good times and bad times - i hope that i've been "real"enough to convey that. Even though we recieved our daughter 2 weeks ago - i have been in a deep valley and am so grateful for the prayers and scripture that has been shown to me - i really feel that He has been reaching His hand down to me and slowly - day by day - drawing me closer to Him and pulling me out of that valley again. Thank you so much Jesus - you are my rock.

This Adoption journey is now over but the story continues as a family - "The Vickerman Family Happenings" blog will be taking over. I will be occasionally posting to this website if something only applies to Maylynn and her adoption or adjustment. Thanks for following!

Oh - i almost forgot! I can finally share her "confidential" details now that the adoption is final!
Chinese name: You Ru Shui ( i think it (Ru Shui) means peaceful water) You is her surname/last name
Born: April 17, 2007
Found on May 24, 2007 and placed in the Guilin SWI on May 26th, 2007
Placed in foster care on July 25, 2007
Repaired cleft palate surgery in April 2008

Home sweet Home! - Aug. 6th (part1)

2009-08-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

Warning - a long rambling post... :)

That was the longest day since maybe about 4 yrs ago (when we brought Hayleigh home):) We are so glad and thankful for all of the prayers! We were a little wearrie when we woke up and saw that it was raining and then soon found out that it was because of a Typhoon - great! I mentioned our worries to our guide and he said "no problem! unless it thunders and lightening" and about 10 sec. later - yep! Thunder and Lightening - great! Our drive to the airport was rather quiet - mostly concentrating on the roads and weather and praying that we would still be able to leave. We were also seranaded by Maylynn's singing - she loves to sing (although she's not singing words -chinese or english- just making her own sounds up to the tune) it is very cute and she loves it when i sing with her:) We made it to the airport with perfect timing and we were quite the sight to see - after we made it through our first of oh maybe 15 security checks for the day, Lance's arms had given out and he wanted M. to walk - well she didn't want to so i carried her screaming through the airport in China - we got several looks (and this wasn't the first time that it had happened for the day - smile:)) we made it to the gate - i set her down and guess what - she stopped crying... our first flight was only about 3 hrs. and not too bad - we were bummed that they had ran out of the more "american" type of dinner and we didn't get much to eat - but Maylynn didn't eat all of her monstrous meal so i had a few nibbles of her leftovers - it was a good thing too. Maylynn sat in Lance's lap for pretty much the whole time - we were able to get her to sit for a few moments here and there doing coloring, stickers and eating. We also had enough time for our connecting flight out of S. Korea to Seattle - no amazing race today - horray! but we were quite the sight again - Maylynn didn't want to walk but needed too and she did but we got several looks again. She is very strongwilled... Our flight to Seattle was about 9 1/2 hrs. - we sat very near the back of the plane and it was very turbulent and just plain wiggly! I started to get sick - i have never gotten airsick before but i felt like it was coming - they soon served dinner and oh my goodess was that unbearable!! I had to get up and sit in the bathroom for about 5 min. but didn't get sick - when i had returned, Lance and Maylynn were done with their meal and was ready to walk around a bit - so i quickly jumped into his seat (near the window) and remembered that i had some air sickness bands in my backpack from 4 yrs. ago! Whoo hoo! I slipped those puppies on and sprawled over 2 of the 3 seats - put my mask on - propped up my pillows and tried to go to sleep - i think that i did and i felt much better when i woke up. But then L. was super frustrated with M.'s clingyness - he ended up walking to the back of the plane again - i soon followed and told him to go to the bathroom and i'd take her - she complained and cried but was so tired, she quickly gave up and was asleep in my arms for the FIRST time - woohoo! I loved it and didn't want to move for the rest of the flight but we had about 6 hrs. left and my arms were already burning after about 20 min.:( soon after i carefully moved my way back into the seat without changing her position at all - she woke up:( and crawled back into her daddy's arms but we were able to keep her laying in the seat - thank goodness!!! About 2 hrs. before we landed they served breakfast - i was so excited and hungry by then but by the time they got to me - they had JUST ran out of the omelette - i was sooo tired and rather hungry that i just started to cry - i couldn't turn the tears off... the stewardess felt bad and gave me some other things to nibble on which turned out to be good enough:) I felt so weird crying about not having food but it had happened 2 times in the same day!! Anyway, we soon made it to Seattle - we were hoping to make an earlier flight to Pasco but we didn't make it:( We had to go through immigration -which we weren't really sure what line to be in - the lady at the consulate told us that since our child was a foreigner that we had to go through the foreigner line but there was just the American and visitor line -so we got int eh visitor line - we were standing there watching the American line zipping through and our line was inching along:( soon a gaurd guy saw us and asked us if we were americans but if we were just returning with our daughter -we said "yes" and he pulled us out of line and zipped us to the next open station - we were so happy that i almost started to cry again! Then when the passport immigration agent stamped all of our things etc. he told us to go to another stations to process Maylynn's paperwork - then he said "Welcome home" tears started welling up in my eyes - it was such a sweet sound to hear - i loved it and the agents were so friendly (in China you feel like you shouldn't smile or look at the agents) anyway, we made it down to the next station about 20 min. later they stamped Maylynn's passport and she was now a US citizen!! woohoo! We then had to go get our luggage and go through customs - we felt like cattle herding through the gates to the officer - we gave her our information and she too said the words! "Welcome home!" I love those words!:) We then had to drop our luggage off to be put back intot he luggage area to be put on our plane and then we went through a few more security checks and by then it was 2:00. We had a bit to eat and freshened up a little bit (mostly Maylynn - she was a wreck!) She fell asleep again while we waited for our last flight - we were a bit nervous b/c there wer TONS of people at our gate - we found out that some other flight were delayed b/c of mech. problems. About 10 min. before our flight was to board- they made an announcement that they had to delay this other flight some more but were possibly going to switch out the plane with a different one - Lance and i quickly started to pray that it wasn't going to be our plane! and it wasn't thank goodness! We boarded, left Seattle and before we knew it we were landing in Pasco!! We were so glad to be home! We came home to family and some special friends - what a wonderful sight to see - loving and familiar faces!!! We were Home!!!

stay tuned - more to come tomorrow...

Pr-yers please

2009-08-05T05:01:00.001-07:00

we just found out that there is a tropical storm "Goni" that is moving toward China in the next 48 hours. We will have to fly over it hopefully - so please pr-y for safe travels!

And keep pr-ying for the Scruggs family: http://jayscruggs.livejournal.com/ they are still waiting for a decision on whether or not they will have to leave thier new daughter.

Guangzhou - Aug. 5

2009-08-05T04:52:00.000-07:00

Sassyness and tantrum 2's!!! That was the theme of the day... so, i'm sure you can imagine how ready we are to go home:) She still prefers Lance over me - but now i think it's more of a "power kick" thing - whatever... her "spoiled world" with dad is about over and her life will be changing yet again when we finally become 1 family again - i cannot wait to see my kiddos:)

Today we had a late breakfast (enough to get us by without having lunch) - afterwards, we took the traditional red couch pictures - she did a good job sitting somewhat still and smiling;) I was then anxious to get packing and organized while Lance and Maylynn played in the playroom. We decided to have Maylynn take an early nap - b/c we all know what happens when she doesn't get her sleep! She's worse!! YIKES!!! we woke her at 2:30 so we could meet the shuttle to go to the US consulate for our FINAL step! We couldn't take any cameras, cell phones or electronics - don't ask me why??? It's not that big of a deal... we all just submitted our final paperwork and then as a HUGE group took an oath that all of the information that we gave was the truth - they then gave us the "brown envelope" It has a special seal on it and cannot be open until we go through immigration in Seattle. As soon as her feet touch the ground she will be a US citizen:)

I also took a picture of our favorite "western" restaurant "Lucy's"- we ate there tonight - it was very pleasant - especially b/c Maylynn had a tantrum:) smile:)

Anyway, i'm exhausted, emotionally tired, worn out, easily cry and just plain ready to go home! Please pr-y for our flights (no turbulance) and that we make all of our connections without running through the airports... We are hoping to be home in Pasco around 5pm but if we can get on an earlier flight WE WILL!! However, we have to go through immigration with the other 500 people that i'm sure are wanting to come to the US tomorrow:)

Guangzhou - Aug. 4

2009-08-04T05:51:00.001-07:00

Today was our consulate appt. day - we didn't have to do anything for it, just our guide - he had to turn in some paperwork etc. We now will go to the consulate tomorrow afternoon to do some swearing in stuff in order to get her visa - then we are coming home!!! woohoo!!! we are soo anxious to get home - we are so tired of being here... ready for some normalcy - our little Maymay is definately a little spoiled here -but that will be a rude awakening to her when we get home! She can definately throw some good 2 yr. old tantrums! and we've seen some more "sassiness" out of her today (more so when we are with our guide???)- we are trying to nip that in the bud as quick as possible:)

Can't wait to get some good huggins from my kiddos at home!! I miss them terribly:)

We didn't do too much today - just trying to pass the time away... after bkfst - we went swimming - it was a good thing we went when we did b/c it was kind of rainy and dreary later today... she's really liking the kiddie pool:) then we took a nap, played in the playroom and met our guide DAvid for dinner. Instead of going on the traditional river boat dinner cruise (which we did last time and did not enjoy it) he took us down the street for a very good chinese dinner - it was delicious!! It was nice and cool after dinner so we took a nice walk - Maylynn really enjoyed watching some people playing badminton in the park - it is very popular here... Now we are back at the hotel for our night time routine.

Ps. Sheryl - we were able to find Mtn. Dew in the bottle - i hope that's okay - we don't have access to anyother stores to find a can... see you soon!

I love you...

2009-08-03T05:46:00.001-07:00

OH!!! i forgot to share the best news!!! for the past few days, i have been able to tell her 'I love you - wo ai ni" and she hasn't buried her head into Lance and cried!! Tonight after i said it, she actually let me kiss her on the nose and she smiled! So sweet:) What a change in the past 7 days!

Guangzhou - Aug. 3

2009-08-03T05:19:00.001-07:00

Just the usual -wasting time away so we can go home day...

Although, there are a few things to report:) Last night, it was the cutest thing! Lance had read Maylynn books etc. tucked her in and layed with her for a few minutes. Soon after, he "snuck" off the bed and crawled next to me - she kinda peeked over but never whined about it - soon after that, she started singing -she sang for about 20 minutes - it was soooo sooo cute:) Usually at about 8:30 she is ready for bed and simply falls asleep - we ar thinking that she had some extra energy b/c she ate a Magnum bar (remember those my PHF friends:)) anyway - we didn't taste her's until she was done and found out it was coffee flavored -hmmm...

So, she went to bed late and woke up early (had an accident:() and proved to be very tired this morning - so were we. Breakfast was successful again but then we went shopping agian at the mall to the pearl factory etc.- she was a bit out of hand and a few time was quite a little you know what! She hit me and screamed very madly at me - i wasn't going to let her get away with it and firmly told her no etc... We bought a few things including an extra suitcase:) Some of the deals aren't too great here though - some things i think that i can get at walmart for the same price:) except for pearls and the chinese essentials;) After lunch we all took a 2 hr. nap - it was wonderful and my sweet girl has been back! We went swimming again, dinner at Lucy's again and Magnum bars on the way back to the hotel (Maymay had vanilla icecream though:)) Now we are watching her video that she LOVES!!! and sang last night:)

Oh - i almost forgot - her TB test was negative but we just found out about a family here with the postivite TB test nightmare! You can visit there website at:http://jayscruggs.livejournal.com/ and please pr-y for them - we cannot imagine what they are going through!

Tomorrow we have a lazy day - our guide goes to our consulate appt. tomorrow and will meet up with us later to take us to dinner. We were supposed to go onthe river cruise but we did that last time and do not want to do it again:) So glad that we have an option to not do it!

sorry no pics today:(

Guangzhou - Aug. 2

2009-08-02T05:14:00.001-07:00

Today was fairly uneventful... We met our guide at 9:30 and he took us to the ChenTemple. We had gone there 4 yrs. ago but this time David (our guide) explained more to us - last time we were just let loose to figure it out on our own. It was interesting... Afterwards, we went to the toy market to do some shopping for our precious gems back home:) This was a "wholesale" market and no bartering there - We were fairly successful:) Tomorrow after we get Maylynn's tb test read (which looks good to us) we will go to the Pearl/Jade Market.

This afternoon we had a fairly successful time taking her swimming - there is a baby pool that we hung out in - i wanted to take some pics but they wouldn't allow it around the pool area...

She is such a good player - it is so much fun playing with her during our little "play therapy" sessions:) She loves to copy my marks when coloring and whenever we are done playing with anything - she is SO good about cleaning up and putting her things away! Oh and she loves the stacking cups - i've never seen any child play with them as long as she does - they've been a hit too:)

Maylynn is doing better - we are starting to think that her little crying/whining fits are out of habit now. I've been able to do pretty much everything for her/with her -she'll cry a little bit but it's kind of a dramatic cry and she easily stops when we are done getting her dressed or help her go potty etc... we try not to make a big deal out of it - we'll console her and tell her it's okay etc... but then we move on. Like i said in an early post - we pick and choose our battles...

We've begun the countdown until we go home :)

Guangzhou - Aug. 1

2009-08-01T05:28:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was actually a really bad day - i had my break down moment last night and just let it all out -it felt good, my heart was so broken... Maylynn definately went backwards yesterday but today was an exceptionally NEW day! We saw so much more of her personality today and it is precious! We thought for sure she'd be whinny and crying miserable all day b/c of her shots but that was not the case. She kind of sat by herself for breakfast, smiles, playing with me, blowing me kisses, playing peek a boo, playing ball, dancing, singing - granted there were a few times when she'd try to resist me... we are now keen on when she is just being dramatic or a power struggle:) So, we pick and choose the battles;)

I gave her bath this morning and was able to do pony tails today - so darn cute!! We had a wonderful breakfast here - i think that the 4 lbs. that i lost last week i will be gaining this week - although, we are still sweating about 2 lbs a day - no need to work out to break a sweat here! It was wonderful to see so many Americans at breakfast - some familiar faces from Nanning too... We met Rebecca (guide) at 9:30 for Maylynn's medical exam. Before the exam we had her passport/visa picture taken - i was able to get a cute smiling picture - then we headed to the medical exam. The examiners were very good with her and understanding (better than when we were there 4 yrs ago) The last stop was the shots and TB test - we thought she was going to have 6 shots but only ended up with 4. We had quickly said a pr-yer before this step and we were so pleased to hear that she only needed 4 shots -still that is 4 too many that we wanted to do here but unfortunately it is mandatory and we cannot opt out of it - it had to be done to complete the adoption and get her visa. The CDC and NVC require this for Hague families;( Hopefully, they will change this for others int he future. She didn't cry with the TB test but there were tears flowing for the shots - we had to wait there for about 20 minutes before we could leave. So far she has not had any reaction to anything - we did give her tylenol this afternoon and evening just in case:) We have to go back Mon. morning to look at the TB test spot.

Lance and Maylynn found the playroom and had a great time playing while Rebecca and i finished organizing paperwork. After lunch Maylynn and Daddy napped while i took the laundry down to get done and did more shopping:) After naps, we treated ourselves to Starbucks! - very expensive though and probably won't do it again... Then we headed back to the playroom - it was fun watching Maymay play with the other kids - she was so good with them. It's funny to see people's reactions when we tell them her age - she looks more like 3 to us and this is what everyone else thinks too... In the playroom, there is a picture of her playing with another 2 yr. old girl and Maymay is about 1 head taller than her:) But Maymay's speech is more like a 2 yr. old - so who knows??? When Maylynn told us she was done playing we headed back to the room and played some more - coloring, stickers, ball, and with her new musical toy - i got some very cute video of her dancing:) We had a nice dinner at an italian restaurant at the other end of the island and now we are back at the hotel for our night time routine. Like i said, today was a great day:) We are looking forward to more fun times tomorrow - we think we are doing some touring with our guide.

Thanks so much for all of the pr-yers and comments - they are so encouraging:)

ps. don't forget to check out the pictures on the shutterfly website:)

Guangzhou July 31

2009-07-31T03:04:00.001-07:00

Not too much exciting stuff going on today... We left Guilin and said our goodbyes to David this morning - we arrived here at the White Swan hotel around 2pm. We love it here - feels very familiar... we went to Lucy's for a late lunch - please keep pr-ying for Maylynn - she hasn't eaten much today and seems to take steps backwards on the days that we fly:( it's been a rough day:(

We have her medical exam tomorrow morning at 9:30. She is supposed to get 6 shots! and 1 TB skin test! It brings tears to my eyes to think of what she has to go through tomorrow - this is a new rule in place from the US National Visa Center. They have just started to require the orphans to have all of their shots here at 1 time and children over the age of 2 have to test negative to TB. In the past, this was the parents responsibility to do once we got back to the US under the expert supervision of our pediatricians. We are not happy about what is going to happen tomorrow. Many people have written letters to senators and congressmen - we plan to when we get home...

That's all for today... thanks for all your pr-yers - we need them!

Ps. we were able to skype home this morning and it was wonderful to see the kids - we miss them soo much!

Guilin July 30 - Orphanage visit

2009-07-30T05:40:00.000-07:00

Today has seemed to be going even better so far... right now Maylynn is napping with her baba:) We'll see what the rest of the day has in store for us:)

It really helps when she gets all the sleep that she needs:) This morning she did better when Lance had to shower - i held her for most of the time and then eventually she was calm sitting on the bed waiting for Lance to get done. It's a fine line on whether or not i should let her be or be near her or hold her- i'm pr-ying about that. I just want her to feel safe with me too... Anyway, breakfast went better today too - She actually sat in her own chair to eat. Lance helped to feed her and i sat across from her... Then we were on our way to the orphanage. We told our guide that we were okay to meet the foster mom if she wanted but ne siad that the director said that the foster mom was too upset and so we weren't going to meet her... We arrived at the orphanage and instantly the director was there to greet us. She is a very nice lady - her name is Fu. We also spoke with a nanny there and she walked us around the grounds. We were dissappointed to find out that they would not let us into the orphanage b/c of the swine flu (they are crazily over cautious here with that whole thing - commercials about it too!)- not too sure why we were there - Maylynn was a bit upset when we arrived - not sure if she recognized it or what - Lance tried to get her to play but she didn't want too. While he was trying to play with her, i asked to meet Meiyang. She is a precious 7 yr. old that is going home to her forever family in NC very soon. Her mom asked me to relay some information about them and to let her know that they will be there for her very soon. This was the very best part of the trip! I was even able to meet her foster mom. It was a wonderful experience - i was crying just telling her about her family - Meiyang is very excited but nervous too - she has been with this foster mom for the past 5 yrs. We were able to visit for about 15 minutes with them - you'll see some pics of her and her foster mom on my shutterfly site.

Maylynn did fine leaving the orphanage- i guess that she didn't really spend much time there - only once a month for check ups etc... oh- we also can't figure out her special need. The director said it was a cleft lip - our papers said a cleft palate - we can't see anything on her lip and from what we can see her palate looks okay. ???? We'll have our dr's check it out at home - won't that be fun! ;) We did find out that Maylynn had a

After the orphanage visit we were dropped off at the "Elephant trunk" rock thing - i wasn't able to get any pictures - we had to pay to get a better look - and we didn't want to do too much walking (we were already dripping with sweat) we did walk back towards the market area in the city center - i bought a few other things adn then we went to KFC for lunch. We are now back at the hotel to nap... She is doing much better - not as histerically upset as previous days - she does say that she misses her mom - it's very sad - i just wish that she would accept me as her mom - soon, very soon - is what i'm pr-ying...

Maylynn woke up from her nap upset again. It makes me so sad that i can't soothe her and be the mama that she is wanting... After about 30minutes, she started to calm down and we decided to sit down and play. We had a fabulous time! We started out slow with books - she really like the book of our family members - we went through it several of times and she started to repeat what i was saying "gege ai ni, jie jie ai ni, etc..." it was so sweet:) then we moved onto stickers and then playing with the balls - this was when she really lit up and was all over the place - it was wonderful!!! Then she remembered that we had playdough that we tried to get her interested in a previous day - boy she had a great time... She is so darn cute and it is precious the way she is very meticulous about cleaning up after herself (did you hear that kids??? ;) When we were playing balls, if she knocked something over - she'd immediatley stop to clean it up and then would carry on playing:)

We met David for dinner for Chinese - i told him no more KFC or McD's!!! If Lance didn't like what we ate then he could starve or eat in the hotel later:) My stomach could not take that stuff anymore!!! We had a wonderful chinese dinner: our favorite: sweet & sour pork, fried rice, pan fried dumplings, rice noodles & deep fried pumpkin strips -yum yum! Dinner went great too - Maylynn sat between me and Lance and i even helped feed her and she asked me to too! It was wonderful:) So many more smiles today:) AFter dinner we took an nice stroll along the river - now we are packing up to get ready for our flight tomorrow to Guangzhou - this is the last stop but will be there until Thursday... We are ready to go home:)

Ps. our internet connection is soooo slow! i am having a hard time getting pictures to upload today:(

Guilin July 29

2009-07-29T05:04:00.001-07:00

More baby steps... we left Nanning at 6:30am -ugh- too early and Maylynn is not an early riser! When she is tired everything is much worse:( She did great on the plane though - Lance sat at the window, then her seat (which was empty b/c she was on his lap the whole time) and then me across the aisle and David (our guide). It was a really quick flight - she was happier on the plane than in the airport etc... she colored with me and fed me some crackers:) She fell asleep on the way to the hotel in Guilin and when she woke up -she was CRABBY. Our room was not ready yet - so we decided to go eat at the hotel restaurant but Maylynn apparantly didn't want that - she cried unconsolably. So, we went up to the room and nicely asked the cleaning lady to hurry:) By this time - Lance had had it! We had talked earlier about maybe in a few days for him to just leave and her to have to put up with me:) Well, this time was now! Since she was already upset about something -we decided why not now:) The cleaning lady was a little concerned and wanted to hold Maylynn - i told her no and asked her to leave - nicely:) She had a great crying fit - nothing that i'm not used to with dealing with at work at CBC;) I wouldn't put her down and just held her and told her that i loved her (in chinese) and that i was her mama (pointing to me) I tried the soothing Chinese phrases and then when she kept carrying on - i just told her no (bu) She finally gave up - we layed down ont he bed together and watched some cartoons - i continued to keep my hands on her - rubbing her back or her hair:) she didn't want me to but when she tried to take my hands off - i just told her no and she stopped... Lance ended up calling after it was quiet for awhile - i told him to go get some lunch and we were fine. Then i remembered about the "Learn to sing and dance with Mei Mei" - LOVE that video - big hit!!! (Hayleigh loves it at home too) We layed on the bed and watched it - it was so sweet to see her eyes light up to songs that she new - she kind of sang a few words with a bit of a smile - she even did some hand motions to twinkle little star:) very precious! Then Lance came back and she was back in his arms - things were a little better than before... We all went down for lunch - we were able to get her to turn from L.and face the table to eat her noodles! After lunch we were hoping to walk around Guilin - but it started to rain! big bummer - we were stuck in the hotel - BLAH!!!! But Maylynn (aka Shui Shui) needed a nap - she's been napping now for about an hour - i am pr-ying that she is happier when she wakes...

Cont'd... Luckily after her nap, the rain had stopped and the sun was out - YEAH!!! So, we strapped up maylynn in the Hip hammock and off we went. We are staying at the Guilin Bravo Hotel and out our window is a beautiful lake and park. We took off exploring the different pathways - beautiful area with bridges etc... (i'll try to post some pics on the shutterfly site) We were scheduled to meet David at 5pm. We did and walked to the city center - David was able to get Maylynn to walk too! She was so cute - we could see some of her personality coming out - swinging her arms etc... Lance was in 7th heaven not having to hold her! We did some shopping and got a few things that represented her area... a love ball, a book of Guilin, and a chop with her name. Maylynn also did some shopping - she's a good shopper! she got a bracelet for 1 yuan! unfortunately, it broke on the way home:( For dinner - you'll never guess where we ate!!! yep! McD's - ugh - Lance does not want any chinese food so we've been eating there more than we eat it at home! Maylynn loves the ketchup - she ate a few fries too! After dinner we headed back to the hotel in a taxi. This is our second time in a Taxi - we've never been in a taxi before and now 2 times in China - my last trip here in NOv. i got to ride in the subway - i guess China is the place for new experiences! :) Anyway, i was able to get some smiles out of Maylynn and captured it on camera too! *The picture above is that smile! * Our taxi was only 9 yuan = $1.50ish - well worth the ride! We said our goodbyes to David for the day - which was upsetting to Maylynn - it seems she is a bit attached to David - we are not surprised though, she can communicate with him etc... it's only a few more days and her world will be rocked again... since she was upset - we decided to go ahead and give her bath together (mostly me though) - we didn't get her out though until she stopped crying - even though it was only about 15 seconds of not crying, she did it and i got her out and her dressed - she did okay - we settled down to watch some tv - i sat next to L.and M. and held L. hand - she didn't like it but we did our usual - "guai guai = calm down/it's okay", "bu=no", "wo ai ni = i love you" and "hun hao = very good". She seems to listen very well - and did calm down. It seems that our "Daddy going out to lunch by himself intervention" helped a little bit. I'm sure tomorrow will be really upsetting to her and we will just let her cry it out - that last thing we heard is that the foster mom will not be there - she is much too upset still - i can understand and am willing to let what happens - happen:) We meet David at 9:30am to leave for the orphanage - so at 6:30pm please - start pr-ying for little Maylynn (aka. Shuishui:))

Baby Steps Cont'd - Nanning July 28

2009-07-28T05:38:00.001-07:00

So... the afternoon was 1 step backwards but maybe 2 steps forwards now????

We went for a walk soon after lunch down the other end of the lake - Maylynn started out in the stroller - Lance put her in it while i was out of the room - we walked for about 20 minutes and then Lance said something to her that struck her sadness and she only wanted him to hold her for the rest of the walk - it was very sunny and very humid - we enjoyed some ice cream but by the time we got back to the hotel we were literally dripping with sweat - i know now why they are so skinny here - they sweat off the excess fat:) I have lost at least 4 pounds so far!! woo hoo:) and i love weighing myself in kilograms:)

Since we were so hot - we decided to try swimming. Well - she didn't like that too much... Lance was really bummed:( I really feel sorry for him - he is wearing out... So, we headed back to the room and decided since she wasn't happy with us anyway to go ahead and pop her in the tub. she was so sweaty from yesterday's ordeal and today's walk- yuck! She wasn't too crazy about the bath -cried but oh well... Lance and i gave it to her together. When she got out of the tub - i told Lance to go ahead and walk out and i'd finish her up (she wasn't happy anyway and it gave him a 2 minute break)

She finally settled down and then we were off to dinner. This dinner was alot better than last nights! We actually got to sit and eat together - before the dinner came we (mostly L.) played - she even gave a little giggle:) she really likes her cell phone - another big hit! Then she pretended to feed lance some dinner. Dinner actually came and she ate (in L. lap) - she loved the noodles. I kept telling him that he needed to eat too - i had the feeling that once she finished that she was going to be all done and ready to leave... sure enough - something triggered and she was upset... he took her to look at some fishtank - she sometimes likes piggyback rides -so cute:) i finished my dinner and then he came to try to eat - luckily he was able to eat some.

Instead of heading back up to the room - we decided to go sit down by the lake. We had a really nice time - we played some more with her phone and then at lollipops together:) We were really having a great time - then the bats came out! yikes! we (I) quickly walked back to the hotel! so here we are... i'm blogging - b/c i can and Lance is laying down with Shui Shui on his tummy watching Chinese cartoons... We leave at 6:30 am for Guilin - wish us luck with this airplane ride (only 1 hr.) and our time there.

When she gets really tired, she is very sad for her foster mom and all she wants to do is have Lance hold her standing up - not sitting or laying down - standing up - needless to say he is getting REALLY worn out:( This afternoon while trying to get her to nap - he just couldn't hold her anymore and just layed on the bed - she did everything she could to pull him up - eventually, she gave up and layed down next to him and closed her eyes for a little bit - enough to get a little bit of rest... I truly feel sorry for Lance and he is getting frustrated but i told him to remember that she is grieving- what if we were to lose someone and that at least he CAN hold her and he can do things with her and she won't cry -she needs him... truly, my heart is broken and i deep down i am sad too but i know that she will come around eventually- and i am just so happy and grateful that i am here with her and soon enough she will understand that i am now her mama:) We are still wondering if we should take her to the orphanage with us on Thursday - if anyone has any advice - please share it with us:)

It's official... and baby steps:)

2009-07-28T01:04:00.001-07:00

Last night she was fairly content in Lance's arms watching Chinese cartoons. We were able to put PJ's on her and a pull up (just in case) -she came to us in panty's:):):) The night went great - she slept soundly from 8:30 and we woke her at 8am to skype home. Hayleigh, Taylor and gma & pa B. enjoyed seeing her - they were able to see the half of her face peering up over Lance's shoulders. Lance got her dressed -i was able to help just a little bit and then we headed down to breakfast. We really weren't sure how this was going to go - last night at dinner she cried the whole time and L, had to bring her back to the room early... But, she was a hungry baby girl - we were soooo pleased - an answer to pr-yer! Lance got her a plate full of watermelon, a banana and some cereal congee. While he was back at the table feeding her - i got my b.fast and his - our usual omelette!! She ate really good - she loves watermelon and the omelette. Whew... 1 meal down:) we were so worried about her not eating anything last night - so glad that she did today...

After bfast we headed down to the civil affairs office - the same place that we got her - as soon as we walked into the room with the other people in it from yesterday - she instantly started to cry. Lance ended up walking the dark hall with her and was able to get her to giggle - things were starting to look up:) It was soon our turn to take our oath to promise to take care of her etc... and to let them know that we did want to adopt her. We had to sign several of documents and also put out thumbprint next to them -then it came time for Shui Shui (Maylynn) to stamp her foot - it was a struggle but i think it got done - L, has red ink all over him...

Then we were off to the Notary. Luckily, we were the first family there. Maylynn really started to relax in the van on the way there and in the waiting room - she has started to look at me and with the help of the guide and Lance, she has been interacting more with me but in L. arms of course:) that's okay - baby steps! In the waiting room, she actually told us that she had to go potty - so L. got to take her. We weren't sure how she'd do on the western toilet but L. said that she did great! We were having a great time playing - she was feeding me etc. Then the other people came and instantly she started to cry:( so we left the crowded room and she was okay... After we signed a few papers there we were done and headed to McDonald's!

Lance actually got to eat his lunch without Shui shui on his lap:) She sat in the high chair and loved her french fries - she loved them even more when i gave her the ketchup! She's going to fit right into this family!!! McD's was a hit! :)

Now we are back at the hotel - we've played with her a bit - she sosososo smart!!!! I'm not kidding! She really catches on quick to things. We got her to sign "more" if she wanted some more M&M's (big hit too!!) and we got her to walk across the room to ME to get them!!! Shocker!! but baby steps:)

Right now, we are getting ready to take a walk - maybe swimming and then packing for our trip to Guilin. Thanks so much for the comments! They are really encouraging:)

Gotcha

2009-07-27T04:20:00.000-07:00

Wow! What an afternoon it's been!

We headed down to the Civil Affairs location. It was an old hotel that the government was renovating - it was quite interesting - the path that we walked down was between wood panels - lots of construction going on. We headed upstairs and there was no one in site and very dark - we wondered if we were in the correct location. After our guide made a phone call, he said that yes we are okay -just early. He soon called housekeeping and led us to the waiting room. We anxiously watched out the front windows hoping to see a glimpse of Maylynn. Instead we saw about 8 other families arriving to meet their new daughters. They soon made their way up to our waiting room - they were all from Canada - Children's Bridge Agency. We all nervously chatted with each other while waiting for our girls to show up - anything to quickly pass these last few moments. Then their guide came in and said that everyone needed to wear masks- WHAT - CRAZY! I did not want to put it on but another waiting mother said that i should so she could get her baby - we did but then quickly removed them after the babies once arrived:) Our guide said this was not necessary. The Canada's group children came in first so we were able to record and take some pictures of a couple that we had just met. Then we heard it was our turn - moments before she came in David (our guide) mentioned that she really likes men - this is not uncommon - many times the children like one or the other more. Well she REALLY likes men! Lance (not me) had to peel her off of the nanny and she just nuzzled into him - we both told her over and over again "Mama loves you and Daddy loves you - in chinese" but she wanted NOTHING to do with me - everytime she peeks up and sees me - she buries her head into Lance and cries. She cried alot! We tried lollipop, toys -everything but she just had her head buried and wasn't coming out. It was hard to get the family pic for her adoption paperwork - it 'll be interesting to see how that turns out. We made our way back down the crazy hallways to the van to head back to the hotel. On the way back to the hotel, she fell asleep...poor thing - has gone through soooo much today. We worked on some adoption paperwork and will have to meet at 9am to complete the adoption - i think she's a keeper;) She is so very sad - she's been wailing and crying and very upset. We tried to eat dinner down in the hotel restaurant but something upset her and she wasn't able to stop crying - she kept crying for her mama -unfortunately not this mama but her foster mama. Lance has been able to give her a few cheerios but she is totally attached/clinging to him. It is going to be a very interesting night. Please pr-y for her and us. These next few days are going to be hard. We are wondering if it is a good idea to go to her orphanage or not - please pr-y about this too...

ps - i tried to post a video but it's not working...

Anticipation...

2009-07-26T21:23:00.001-07:00

That's what our whole day has been so far. Anticipating the rest of the journey that G. has had us on for the past year - anticipating the moment we first see Maylynn - anticipating how she'll react to us and us to her - anticipating how the next 24 hrs and 24 years will go... ANTICIPATING! So many feelings going on right now - but mostly excitement! We will be meeting our guide around 2:30 (11:30pm your time) and then we are supposed to get Maylynn around 3:30. After we get her, i think we will just be coming back to the hotel to get to know each other. I guess that we have 24 hrs. to decide if we want to keep her. So, then Tuesday afternoon we will go back to the office and finish the paperwork to get her passport etc...

This morning we were able to skype home and talk to Taylor, Hayleigh and gma V. Brayden is on his way to camp with his buddy Aidan - we are hoping that he has a great time - it's the first time he'll be at a camp away from home without dad as his counselor. After breakfast, we took a walk by the lake. It is a very nice walk but it's very hot and humid - we went swimming afterwards (love the pool here - it's perfect temp) I think i've been swimming more here these past 2 days than the whole summer at home! The weather and trees (palm & banyan) really remind me of Hawaii. We are just cleaning up now and preparing what we will take to meet Maylynn (her little backpack with a few toys) and about 5 gifts for the officials etc...

There was an interesting newspaper article here the other day about some areas in China encouraging qualified couples to have a second child as "an effort to tackel the burden of an aging population." Here are the "baby rules: The rule restricts only 35.9% of the population, mostly in medium-and large-sized cities, to one child. But urban couples who are both only children can have 2 children. In rural areas of 19 provinces, couples are allowed to have a second child if their first is a girl. This applies to 52.9% of the population. In addition, more than 11%, mostly minority groups, is free to have 2 or more children." Our guide also said that domestic adoption of healthy children is really popular here but not of special needs children.

Nanning July 26

2009-07-26T00:29:00.001-07:00

We woke up early today - i was anxious to see if my pictures had uploaded. I was having troubles with the internet last night -well... we were so dissappointed b/c the internet to the hotel was down. We were supposed to Skype home to the kids - we knew they were waiting at home so we decided to call on our cell phone instead. We added the international calling plan before we left but i'm not looking forward to the cell phone bill next month. It was wonderful talking to all of the kids though:) It sounds like they are having fun with family and friends.

After breakfast, we met our guide to venture out to the country. It is so fun just driving around and watching the people. The countryside was so amazing. We actually got to experience pictures that you see of China in the rural areas. We brought a bag full of candy to hand out to the children and old people. They really enjoyed that - so did we:) We saw so many people working VERY hard planting rice, washing clothes or selling their crop at the local market (even fresh meat). The people were very friendly and the scenery was awesome.

We then headed to get some lunch at Pizza Hut and now we are back at the hotel. We plan on swimming and having dinner here. Tomorrow, we will probably take a walk around the lake which we see from our hotel window and then meet David around 2:30 to pick Maylynn up at 3:30! We can't wait - we are pr-ying that we will have a easy transition and that she will accept us - it is going to be much different than when we got Hayleigh - we are preparing for the worst but definately hoping for the best!

Ps - I was able to upload the pics from yesterday and am working on todays. The internet is very slow and "time's out" - ugh... very frustrating... You can see the pics at Maylynn's backup blog

Nanning July 25th

2009-07-25T04:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the P's! I feel much better!! Just jet lag stuff. We went swimming in the hotel pool - it's outside and just the temp. that i love! We swam for about an hour - it was very relaxing!

We met David (Melissa - did you guys have him as your guide?), he's great! He took us to McD's as we hadn't eaten anything for a loooong time -can't remember when we had a meal last... it tasted good - David thought it was funny that i ordered a happy meal -but i wanted to toy for Maylynn:) Then we ventured to Walmart to get some water, snacks and candy to take to the village tomorrow.

I am so excited - we get to go to the countryside! Please pr-y for no rain! The clouds looked threatening but no drops;) The weather here reminds us of Hawaii - very hot and humid. There are even palm trees and banyan trees like the ones we saw in Maui last summer. Anyway, around 10am we will be heading out in the wonderful airconditioned van - love the van!! It's very similar to the one's at PHF and Harmony House.

After Wally world, we walked around the downtown area and also walked down to the park and saw the river filled with houseboats - the families live in them year round.

The Amazing Race...

2009-07-24T21:52:00.001-07:00

THat's kind of what our trip seemed like! Just kidding - it did cross our mind at one point though:)

We left Pasco with no problems - a little late though, Our layover in Seattle was filled with calls to Taylor. He called and said that he was sick, so we had Lance's parents go get him a week early - he's home now. Our flight to Korea was really nice - Korean Air was very nice and comfortable! We watched 3-4 movies each and took some naps when we could. This was when the "race" began - we landed late in Korea. As it was we only had 1 hr. to change planes. We quickly got off the plane (as quick as you can when you're in the back of the plane...) then everyone had to stop and get our temps. taken - thank goodness we were good. We found some other people that were catching the same flight, so we kinda followed them and tried to figure out where the gate was together. The airport in Korea is HUGE - HUGE- HUGE! Very nice but HUGE! We new our gate # but couldn't figure out how to get there - we had to aske serveral people. It was funny (now) we'd ask someone where - they'd point to a direction, so we'd run to that spot and then ask someone else and then RUN to that spot! It was at least 1 mile - no kidding or exagerating! We were running as fast as we could - we only had 15 min. until the flight was supposed to leave! I was worried -b/c at several locations inthe airport we went through temp. taking machines - i was hoping that it wasn't up b/c of the running. We never were questioned on our temp at all anywhere! Praise to Him! By the time we got to the gate - i had an asthma attack and was crying etc... it was ridiculous! They got me some water and i was able to calm down - then they let me get on the flight:) This flight was very nice too - same carrier and plane to Beijing. We were worried about not making this connection in Beijing. But everything went great - immigration, our luggage made it etc!! We found the domestic connection for Southern Airlines to Nanning - we had to ask people where to check in - it's funny - i thought the lady said to go to I4 to check in but there were not "I's" aisles only up to G - so, since we were in the right area - i asked someone else and she said - yes - I 4 and then pointed to the "F' area - i guess F must sound like I in English - too funny:) Anyway, we got checked in was all set. We got to our gate just in time only to find out that it would be delayed 2 hrs! So, we sat around and i started some conversations with some girls - from what they were wearing, it looked like a group of kids from a school. so, in our conversation i asked where they were from - they said Guilin! I started to cry. i showed them a pic of my kids and of Maylynn - they seemed to understand a little bit... anyway, our flight made it here at 3am - 12pm your time, which means that we traveled about 30 hours! I am a bit jet lagged today and could use prayers that i feel better.

Our guide is very nice - his name is David. We were so excited to see him at 3am! He took us to our hotel at the "Nanning Wharton International Hotel" - not The Majestic. He said this one was better - and it is really nice! I'd like the ac to be a bit more powerful but oh well. We are not doing much today - good thing b.c i feel like staying in bed... we might try the pool. David is coming back for us aroun 3:30 to take us to Walmart and dinner. We will be seeing the countryside tomorrow - looking forward to that! We get Maylynn on Monday afternoon! He is going to change our plans too - we will be flying to Guilin on Wed. to visit her orphanage, finding spot etc... and then will fly out to Guangzhou on Friday.

We will try to post more later... Many blessings to you all - we miss the kids terribly - please pr-y for us.

Bags are packed...

2009-07-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

Our bags are packed and kids are taken care of. I think that we are ready to go!

We have so many mixed emotions... excitement, worry, anxious, happy, sad - too many to list... We've ended the day with church and it's just what we needed - it really gave us a sense of peace knowing that everyone is praying for us and God is with us. He has gotten us this far in less than 1 year and He will be with us to the end. We can't wait to meet Maylynn - all day, we'd say "this is the last time we'll be sitting at this table as a family of 5..." this is the last time we'll be at church as a family of five" etc... it's so amazing to imagine our family being 6 people. If you would have asked me 8-10 years ago - i'd say that you're crazy! But, God has put adoption in our hearts and Hayleigh has been such a blessing to our family - we are sure that Maylynn will be too!

That's all for now from the US - not sure when we'll be able to post again - possible the 25th... (which might be your 24th)

Oh - please pray that no one on our plane (specifically anyone in the rows around us) has the swine flu - we do not want to be quarantined! We will be wearing masks! :) The people at the store thought i was nuts buying them - oh well, maybe we are but we don't want to get sick on the way there...

Our Itinerary

2009-07-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

Here's the scoop:

July 23rd: 9am leave Pasco to Seattle to Korea to Beijing (on Alaska and Korean air) we arrive in Beijing at 8pm and catch a flight to Nanning at 10pm - please pray that we make this connection!
July 25th: 1am arrive in Nanning & check into The Majestic Hotel (5 star)
July 27th: Gotcha day!
We are hoping and praying that sometime between the 27th & 30th that we will be able to go to Maylynn' orphanage in Guilin.
July 31: Fly to Guangzhou & check into The White Swan.
Aug. 1: Maylynn's medical exam :(
Aug. 4: Consulate appointment
Aug. 5: Take our oath & get Maylynn's visa!
Aug. 6: 12pm fly to Korea and Seattle (on Korean Air) then Alaska Air home - we are scheduled to arrive at 5pm but will do our best to catch an earlier flight if we can!:)

In between all of these appointments there will be lots of time for playing and sightseeing.

Busy, busy, busy

2009-07-21T11:17:00.001-07:00

This is kind of a test post from our laptop that we will be bringing - i want to be sure that it works!

We are just busy with preparations for the trip today. Lance is home finishing up a big disciples cross order - what a huge blessing! It will help with the additional expenses that seem to creep up... He's also taking care of car and house issues as well as, getting some daddy time with the kids - he's such a wonderful dad:)

I am busy running errands today (so glad L. is home so i can do this) bank, shopping for gifts for our precious gems at home, last minute stuff etc...

Some unexpecting blessings too: someone from church missed out on donating some cleft palate nipples for our mission trip last NOv. - so, she is dropping them off for us to take to Maylynn's orphanage! What a blessing - i can't wait to give it to them - i also have some clothes and medicince that i will give them. Also, some dear friends have unexpectedly donated some $$ to us too - Huge blessing! Thank you to everyone!

I am super emotional these days - cry at anything - crying right now as i am typing - blah!! i don't remember being this emotional with Hayleigh - i guess i already know what a blessing that she'll be to our family:)

Later - i'll post our itinerary...

Many blessings
Kirsten<><

He CAN move mountains!!

2009-07-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

I was in shock this morning when my agency emailed me this email:

Hey Kirsten…

We have confirmed your consulate appointment in
GZ for August 4, 2009.

Based on this date, you will need to
be in Nanning on July 25, 2009. You will be responsible for making your flight
arrangements all the way to Nanning.

Based on your consulate
appointment date, you may leave Guangzhou after 6:00 pm on August
6th.

Please know that based on all of the current changes in the
consular process (additional shots, TB testing, etc…) we are encouraging
Lifeline families to seek out airline tickets with liberal ticket-change
policies.

Please e-mail me your itinerary as quickly as you can.
Once I have your itinerary, I will be preparing your cost list for your
wiring.

As always Kirsten, I am here if you need me or if you have
any questions! I will be fedexing your paperwork to you this afternoon.

So - this is a quick post! but i wanted to share our awesome and amazing news!!! We have so much to do - finish packing and then arrangements for our other 3 precious gems here at home - we are so thankful to have wonderful family and friends that will be helping us out!

Please pray for peace for me this week:) and protection for our trip, God's hands to be at work in EVERYTHING (at home and away).

I can't believe that in 1 week she will be in our arms!

A Might God!

2009-07-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

Wow! I was going to wait until 3:00 today before posting my previous post but I guess I just needed to get all of that out. Maybe I should have waited but I guess it also give everyone an idea of how emotionally taxing it is to adopt. What a rollercoaster it’s been today! I just gave up all hope that we could travel anytime soon and Guess what happens! Our agency called me about 30 minutes ago to let me know that “It’s here!” our TA showed up!! I could not believe it!!! I still can’t! We are still hoping that He can move some mountains though… We won’t know until Monday (or Tues.) of our consulate appt. We’ve requested Aug. 4^th – with the hopes that we will leave next week. Or, Aug. 18^th – so we can see our boys for a week before we are gone for 2 weeks… Crazy – Crazy – Crazy!

So – WE NEED OUR PRAYER WARRIORS TO PRAY FOR AN AUG. 4^TH DATE AND AIRFARE/FLIGHTS TO GET US THERE AND BACK. Well, that’s what I want and hopefully, that’s what He wants – So, I guess a better prayer would be to pray for His will to be done above all else but if you’d like to pray specifically for the Aug. 4th date that would be good tooJ!!!

I'm done...

2009-07-17T09:33:00.001-07:00

Emotionally – I can’t take this waiting anymore. It is very discouraging. I’m am at the point that I need to put this whole adoption out of my mind right now or I am going to go crazy. But, I don’t’ want to put it out of my mind though b/c a part of me feels that I’ll be putting Maylynn out of my mind too and I don’t want that – I just want her home.

My agency hasn’t been able to find anything out from the TA lady. Lily (our china liaison) said that the TA lady was out sick all week – well, since we didn’t receive our TA yet –that must mean that our papers are probably sitting on her desk waiting to be signed. And if the papers are on her desk waiting to be signed, then we will not be leaving for China next week. This is super upsetting to us. We were so hoping to be leaving tomorrow – I guess He has something else planned for us. We don’t know what and it will only be revealed when He wants it to be. Right now we can only see the bad – the earliest that we will be able to go now is Aug. 8^th (due to the fact that my parents will be gone the 1^st two weeks in Aug and we need their help and the fact that the boys will be away at camp and we don’t want to be away from Taylor for 4 straight weeks) – also, airfare is higher in August (we thought the airfare was high in July – I guess we were wrong – not sure how we will make up the difference??) and return flights from China are also difficult to find (so, who know if we will be able to come back right when we need to??)

I am having a real hard time finding the good in all of this – I sure hope He reveals His plan soon.

So – I’m done posting until I have something good to report… and I don’t expect anything good until who knows??? Maybe next Friday???? In the meantime, I am going to try to have fun with my kids for the next few weeks of summer – I just wish that Maylynn was here too!

BTW – if we weren’t a new Hague family, we would be home with Maylynn right now – many that got their LOA the same day we did and are under the old process i-600 are there and back with their childL

A friend posted this on FB today – I think it was for meJ

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7)

Nothing special...

2009-07-15T13:30:00.001-07:00

I am sending this post via email – just in case we can’t access our blogger in China – this will give us another option to post. And well… there just isn’t much else to do at this point so, why not???

But – the only thing on the adoption front to share is that: our agencies China liaison is here in the US right now at our agencies main office. She (Lily) tried calling the TA processor last night and the TA processor was out sick – so no new info. They assured me that they would continue to check…

If the attachment works – it is Maylynn in Chinese characters…

Still waiting...

2009-07-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

Yes - we are still waiting... our agency thought that our TA would be here last week - well, that didn't happen:( Our agency emailed me yesterday that they would check on it last night (day time for China). I still haven't heard the results of their "checking" - i am trying really hard to be a patient person and not "hound" our agency for information that they don't have... So, now that we are home from vacation, i am really on edge... whenever i hear an email pop up on the computer, i frantically check to see if it's from Karla! or when the phone rings, i am racing to beat the boys to answer it with the hopes it's Karla. Right know, i just want to hear some good news from Karla!!!

I guess I need to stay busy while He is still working things out for us...

God's Timing

2009-07-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful that we are on a family vacation/hockey tournament week right now. I truly thought that this 2nd time around adopting that i would be more patient - i guess God has revealed in me that i still have more work to do with that.

We are busy in Canada and i was concerned last week that if we got our TA while we were gone, then how would i do all of the last minute scrambling of travel arrangements etc... Well, He's answered that with nothing to worry about b/c no TA yet - so, i am able to enjoy our family vacation in beautiful Whistler, Canada. But don't get me wrong, Maylynn is still one of the first things we are thinking and praying about. The minute we wake or get back tothe condo - we are checking email etc... and, i am constantly wondering about the rest of His timing with travel etc... i am slowly coming to the realization that we will not be leaving on the 18th as we had hoped - i am now praying for July, 22nd or 25th (depending on airfare etc.) The longer our TA takes, the less amount of time we will have help with the kids at home b/c my parents will be in Virginia in August. Lance's parents are willing to help out as much as is needed but it would be nice to split up the time between grandparents...

So, we are asking for all of our prayer warriors to be boldly praying for our TA to come through on Monday if that is God's timing:)

A sweet surprise (but no TA)...

2009-07-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

She is so stinkin cute! My agency emailed me these new pictures today but no TA:( What were they thinkin??? These pics just make me want my TA even sooner!!! Did i already say that she is so stinkin cute!???

We also got more measurements - i haven't had a chance to convert them yet or compare them to previous ones: 91cm, 13kg, 47cm head, 51cm chest, 16cm foot, 20 teeth.

Just waiting...

2009-07-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a week or so since my last post- so i thought that i'd update on what's been going on...

On the adoption front, we are trying to wait patiently for our TA (Travel Approval). Our agency said this week - we are hoping early this week but we'll see:) Please pray that we hear something today or tomorrow:) We have tentative plans to travel on July 18th but if we don't hear soon about our TA then it may be the following week. Oh, and our airfare has turned out to be a bit more that originally thought:( It may be more like $4500 instead of $3000 that we were planning on... oh well, it's just $$:)

This past week has been interesting - i received final notice that my budget will be cut for my Co-Op preschool program that i oversee and where I teach parent education at the Community College. It has some good and bad things that go along with that: good= i get to be at home more with the kiddos and the bad= Taylor may not get to got to private school next year. We are still praying about this to see what God has planned... Also, on Thursday someone broke the rear window out of my car at the Court Club - luckily, nothing was taken and it was fixed very quickly the next day! Just a little bit of a pain but it all worked out okay...

Getting to know our little Shui Shui...

2009-06-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

We had a sweet surprise in my email this morning! I had sent the foster family a letter through Red Thread China who sent Maylynn a package and got an update for us. Well, in my email this morning was the answer to our questions:) It looks like she'll fit right in! We can't wait!!

Dear Family :
Below are answers to your questions :

How would you describe her personality?
Outgoing and active ,she loves to play outside.

Does she like animals?
She likes animals but she is afraid to touch them .

Does she have any likes/dislikes/sensitivities?
she likes singing ,jumping ,her favorite toys are ball toys ,she loves to read picure
books ,she is a little crazy with cookies ,when she eat cookies ,she will
cough.

What makes her happy?
Play outside will make her veryhappy.

What makes her angry or upset?
when she wants something but adults does not want to give it to her ,she will be angry .

Is she frightened of anything?
She is frightened of being alone ,she likes to stay with adults .

What do you do that soothes her?
When she is not happy ,adults needs to tell what is right what is wrong ,why this is right or why that is wrong ,she is a good girl ,after she realize this is not right ,then she will be a happy girl again .

What are her favorite activities?
Play balls`games .

Does her name have any special meaning?
Her name means she will be a sweet and gentle girl like water.

What name(s) do you call her?
shui shui is her nickname .

Who chose her name and why?
workers picked her name .

Has she had any health problems or allergies?
We have not found any of her health problems or allergies yet.

What medical treatments has she received?
Shui shui only received child mecial examination ,she is quite
healthy ,She has not received any other medical treatments yet .

What kind of food is she eating now?
rice ,noodles ,steambums ,rice noodles ,ect.

What is her favorite food?
her favorite food is noodles .

What is her least favoritefood?
congee.

What kind of vegetables and fruits does she like?
She likes to eat all kinds of vegetables and she loves all kinds of
fruits too,such as watermelon and apple .

Article 5 - Yippee!!!

2009-06-26T07:25:00.001-07:00

I just got an email from our agency saying that "your paperwork is already signed and back at the CCAA" as per our agency's chinese liasion!!! From what i understand, this is the Hague Article 5 step COMPLETED!!! This is amazing news - many other people are having to wait at least 8-10 days for this paperwork to be signed!!! I love our agency:)

So, now we are just waiting for our TA - UNBELIEVABLE!

NVC cabled our Papers to Guangzhou!!! WOOHOO!!!

2009-06-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

Yeah! We are so excited that this new Hague requirement step is almost done!!

I called the NVC this morning (i got the feeling that i needed to call today -so i did!) I tried 3 different phone numbers -
1st: The Dept. of State Visa Center (i think?) 202-663-1225 - i spoke to someone at this number on Monday and they had said that the NVC had our paper but hadn't cabled them yet - i thought they would be the ones to call but by the time i listened to all of the automated options , they said they were closed! Crazy - it's not a holiday or outside of biz hrs. -
2nd: So, i decided to perserve and find someone else to call... I went to the Hague adoption visa requirement page and got a phone # - they said that they didn't have this info available but to call the NVC at 603-334-0700.
3rd times a charm!!! I spoke to a wonderful lady that told me that "our papers are at the "post"". So, i said, "you mean that you've cabled them to Guangzhou?" - she said "yes, they are in Guangzhou" - i immediately started to cry and had to appologize- i think the lady thought i was a fruitcake - or hopefully, just an anxious mommy wanting to bring home her baby girl:)

I still crying thinking about it- 1 step down and only a few more to go! My agency suggested that i start packing - i think i will just in case God does work a miracle for us and that we are able to leave in a few weeks! WOW! but, i don't want to get my hopes up too much... please pray for us:)
Also - i just checked out the Rumor Queen's chart for the statistics on the wait times... It looks like we could be waiting anywhere from 4-10 days for our Article 5 to be issued and then anywhere from 7-20 days for our TA (Travel Approval) to be issued.

BTW - i've posted the phone #'s here so anyone else at this step can be a crazy, anxious mommy adopting from china wanting info NOW person! :)

H1N1 - Swine Flu stuff

2009-06-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Swine Flu Kit

In addition to all of the "new" paperwork hassle, we get to deal with the swine flu stuff too... Please pray for this family that has been quarantined on their way to adopt their child from China and pray that our travels will be uneventful:)

Also, here is an email i just got regarding flying to and from China and what we'll have to look forward too... I am pretty sure we will be wearing masks:)

I flew from Los Angeles to Guangzhou on May 31. All of us had
our temperature checked right before we boarded the flight. I noticed at least
20-30 passengers wore masks. I wore mine through the entire flight back to
China. My dear husband bought me ten of them in China, I only used one mask
after I landed at Los Angeles airport from China and I was one of the very few
wore mask at LAX. Obviously people were more concerned for arriving in China.Ten
minutes before the plane landed at Guangzhou BaiYun International Airport, we
were told to remain seated after landing and people from Health and Immunization
Department would come straight to our plane to check individual's temperature.
Soon after landing, four of them wearing Hazmat suits and seriously checked our
temperature. There were four passengers' temperature over 98.6 degree Fahrenheit
and they were taken off the air plane immediately for further observation. We
were told that people who seated three lines in front and at back of these
people need to have their temperature checked again and leave detailed contact
info such as phone number, address and itinerary in order to make contact in
case any of these four people were identified H1N1.

I was lucky that the line I was sitting was the cut off, so we
did not have the temperature check again. I thought we might be able to excuse
ourselves to leave. But the crew announced that all passengers should remain
seated until the procedure was completed. It took about 1 ½ hours. I had two
carry-on luggage pieces and ended up as the last one went through customs and
immigration. Before I went to pick my checked luggage, I asked if any of the
four were identified as positive for H1N1l. I was told it was too early to tell
and they would be kept at airport for further observation. But at least I did
see one of them released before I left airport.

The whole temperature checking process was in good order. If
nobody in the plane has a temperature higher than normal, the process should not
take more than ½ hour. It is recommended to have your travel contact phone
numbers with you if you are delayed.

There are a few basic general recommendations as bringing
hand sanitizer wipes, and practicing good hygiene. I highly recommend families
take Tylenol or other temperature-reduce medication in case anyone has a
naturally higher than normal temperature. Do not drink any alcohol in the
airplane and have cold drinks on hand to help reduce any unexpected high
temperature I hope this helps any of you who have questions about travelling to
China right now.

Lea in Guangzhouhttp://www.lotustours.net/Lotus Travel:
Uniting Families and Connecting Cultures

Care Package

2009-06-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

This is the care package that Maylynn should be recieving in the next few days from Red Thread China.

As you can see, we are giving her foster family a camera to take pictures of her and her foster family and a letter with many questions - we are hoping to get these things back when we get her. It will give us SO much valuable information about her likes and dislikes etc...

We gave her a pretty prink dress and a little musical stuffed animal to enjoy -as well as, some candies for the family. The red bag on the top left has a tag with it - and this is being given to her with the hopes that the foster family with send with her a few precious things that they feel that Maylynn will treasure for her life. I am really praying that some things will come home with her.:)

Paperwork update - ??? not too sure... On Monday, we were issued our provisional approval letter - this gets sent to me, our agency and the Dept of State Visa Center (to learn about the Hague process we are going thru - click HERE) The D. of State then cables our information to the Consulate in China - we are waiting to hear about this step! Please keep praying for quick paperwork processing!!!

BTW- thanks for the prayers for the update on Maylynn - we are so very grateful for them!

BTW - we compared the measurements with Hayleigh and Maylynn is 2.5 years younger than Hayleigh but is only 5 pounds lighter and will be at Hayleigh's nose! They will look like little twins!!! :):) Too funny!

Praise the Lord! New Pictures!!

2009-06-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful morning surprise! We were so excited to wake up to find some new pictures of Maylynn in our email! Ann at Red Thread China was so faithful in getting us this information - we are SO, SO grateful!!! Our hearts are so full of joy right now:) She is so beautiful and we are even MORE anxious to bring her home. It give me so much peace though because she looks so happy and well cared for. We finally have some updated measurements too - now i know what i can start packing!

height :88.5cm = 34.8 inches
weight :14kg = 30.9 pounds
head :47cm = 18.5 inches
chest :51cm = 20.1 inches
feet:20cm = 7.9 inches

Her foster mother is also in one of the pictures - a treasure that we are so grateful for too! And, it give us hope that she may still be living with her -sometimes, once they find out that a family is coming, the orphanage will take them out of foster care and put them back into the orphanage until the family comes.

What to do??? Maybe SHOPPING!

2009-06-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

I need to keep my mind focused on something productive - so... how about shopping!! that's always fun - right?? Well, it's more fun if i know what to get :) Last week we had our Travel Meeting with our agency and they reminded us of the gifts that we need to bring. China is really BIG on giving gifts - from what i understand, it really doesn't matter what it is but just that you gave a gift and it's wrapped in a red bag with tissue paper. So, i've been doing a little bit of research on gifts but i need help.

I needed 6-8 small "random" gifts for women and 2-3 small "random" gifts for men - these are for the caregivers at the orphanage and consuluate workers - after researching, i decided to purchase about 6 fingernail polishes & lipsticks and deoderant for the women's gifts and then men's deoderant for the men's gifts. From what i understand, the women LOVE "american" cosmetics and all chinese love deoderant as a gift because they don't sell it there. ??huh?? i thought this was a little bizarre and i thought twice about buying deoderant and giving it to someone as a gift but -oh well - i guess it's what they like... if someone out there knows anything different - please let me know:)

I also need a gift for the Orphanage Director and her foster family - if anyone has any ideas on what would be a good gift for them - PLEASE, let me know:)

Then i need to get a gift for our guide in Nanning and our Agency's guides - so, if there are any awesome ideas for them - please let me know:) I've heard that our agency's guides like trendy things - but i'm not a trendy person, so i have no clue - HELP!!!

We will also need to give the orphanage a gift - last time we went to Walmart and bought some supplies that they need. I'm not sure if we'll do that, or try to collect some "valuable" things here to bring... I think Lance's cousin might be donating some "american" medicine to take - it think they will really appreciate that:) If anyone has anything hanging around, like formula or blankets - let me know if you'd like me to take them off your hands;)

I 800 approval confirmed!

2009-06-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

Praise -Praise - Praise:)

Our agency emailed the NBC and was able to confirm that our approval was sent to the NVC (National Visa Center) this morning. Now we wait for it to be scanned and sent electronically (apparently this is called "being cabled" - it sounds like email to me??? oh well) to the China Consulate in Guangzhou. This is where it meets up with our Chinese LOA and DS230 to become the "Article 5" (another LOA) - then we get to wait for our TA (Traval Approval)

Still praying for quick paperwork processing and an update...

BTW - Thanks to everyone for the encouragement - it really means alot:) They are ALL so awesome but this one hit me tonight - I'd like to it...

Habbakuk 2:1-3-(Message Bible)
What’s God going to say to my
questions? I’m braced for the worst.
I’ll climb to the lookout
tower and scan the horizon. I’ll wait to see what
God says, how
he’ll answer my complaint.
And then God answered: “Write this.
Write what
you see.
Write it out in big block letters
So that it can be seen on the
run.
This vision-message is a witness
Pointing to what’s coming.
It
aches for the coming-it can hardly wait!
And it doesn’t lie.
If it seems
slow in coming, wait.
It’s on its way. It will come right on
time.

This is so true - I know this is true - it was true with Hayleigh and i've known it to be true with Maylynn - but i just want to bring her home where we can start loving on her - my heart is aching for her...

Baby Steps... I800 approval !

2009-06-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

I wish that I was ecstatically jumping off the walls right now with the terrific news that our I800 is getting approved today, but for some reason I'm not. I guess it was when I asked the officer what next and when - that kind of burst my little bubble that was forming - she said: the approval now goes to the Dept. of State - National Visa Center and they will electronically scan our paperwork and send it to the China Consulate and these papers will then meet up with our other papers to become an "Article 5" - she said the Dept of State is a separate entity from them and she really wasn't sure of the timing but said "not long - maybe 3 weeks" - i about broke down into tears - i was hoping she'd say 3 days! I'm dead serious! - i was not expecting her to say 3 weeks.

So, we are praying for paperwork miracles - PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for paperwork miracles - we want to bring Maylynn home soon!!

Also, this weekend we decided to send Maylynn another care package. We sent her one in April- we had hoped that we'd be there now but obviously are not. We just really want her to know that we are still coming for her. This time i used Ann at Red Thread China - i am hoping that she will get it this week and it has turned out to be about the same price of me sending one from here. I believe that she lives in China and sends packages, translated letters etc. to the waiting children:) We are waiting to hear back from her on how the delivery went and we asked her if she can find out some updated information too. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pray that someone can get some updated info about our little girl:)

A little more hope for Friday...

2009-06-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

My agency called this morning to let me know that she was in contact with our new NBC officer all day yesterday trying to make sure they have all that is needed. There was 1 piece of information that was missing (the original referral in chinese). My agency overnighted it to them so they would have it today. She hopes to find out if it was approved today and then how long it will take for this paper (the US LOA) to get to China to meet up with other paperwork there to become the Article 5 document that is needed before we get our TA.

TB test update- well, it looks like we are going to be going on TOTAL faith that she doesn't test positive for TB. Here's the response from our adoption agencies China liasion:

About the TST test, I talked to the clinic doctor today again. He said most of the children with vaccination before will show positive. They have discussed with CDC very carefully about this problem. He said the main point is x-ray not PPD result. I can ask the orphanage to do it earlier. But the baby will do again in GZ no matter what the result she has because Consulate only accepts the result from clinic GZ not anywhere else. I discussed with Rebecca and we have considered to let families fly to GZ 2 days earlier from local cities. So they can have enough time to do TST and x-ray if necessary. And to be honest, if the x-ray shows problem, the child has to stay in China until the problem is clear. The doctor said this chance would be very rare.

Looking on the brighter side of things - i told Lance this morning that if she did test positive and needed treatment, then i'd just fly out all of the kids to live with me in China for 6 months and that i could homeschool them there or they could attend school there - they have American Schools:). I'm totally up for living in China but he wasn't too thrilled - hehe:)

A little bit of hope...

2009-06-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

First thing this morning i called the NBC actually got to speak with our new officer that will be reviewing our paperwork. I'm glad that i called b/c it seems that they had to look for our file to see who was assigned to it - our previous officer quit. Anyway, she said that she received it late last night and will be reviewing it - not sure when or how long it will take... That's all for now - i'll update more when i know more:)

Broken...

2009-06-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

yep - that's how i feel today... Broken. I woke up this morning and couldn't stop crying. (As many of you know adopting is really emotionally demanding.) I've tried to be really strong and hold it together with this process but i just can't anymore. It's hard! I pray for strength everyday but as the time is supposed to be drawing nearer - i feel that it is going away farther...

Some of you know that we are the first family with our agency to be a "Hague Convention" family - yes- the "guinea pigs". Our agency is trying really hard to be proactive and process our papers quickly but it really sucks when I've been following other blogs that recieved their LOA the same day we did and they've been approved. I called the NBC on MOnday and they had no record of our paperwork yet and we haven't recieved a reciept yet and i just tried calling today and wouldn't you know it - they are closed already... This sucks...

Our boys are both going to be gone at the end of July for different camps - we were hoping this would be a good thing - when we made the decision to send them, we had NO IDEA when we'd be in China and couldn't wait any longer to make plans for them much longer. But now with each passing day of no NBC LOA or TA, it seems that we won't be gone while they are. This sucks too b/c we may be traveling a week or 2 later - which then means that we don't see our boys for a total of 3-4 weeks! Did i say this sucks?

Then we find out today about the new CDC requirement for all 2 yr olds to get a TB test. They don't have this test until after the adoption is final in China and at the medical exam to get her visa to got to the US. So, she is legally ours -so, if she tests postive for the first test (i think it's a skin test - i need to confirm this though) then she would get a chest xray - if this is positive, then they do a sputum (sp?) test (very invasive procedure where they stick a tube up her nose into her lungs) - if this is positive, then they treat it in CHINA for 6 MONTHS!! This means that I may have to stay there while she is treated - b/c she is legally ours but the US won't give her a visa to come home for treatment!! Can you beleive that! and here's the KICKER!! This new policy is only for Orphans!! Sounds a little discriminating to me!! THIS SUCKS TOO!!! my agency is trying to be proactive with this too and trying to get a preliminary tb test done to see if it will be an issue but we are not sure if the orphanage will do it or not...

So - this is how i feel today Sucky and broken - how's that for a wonderful inspiring post! I thought twice about sharing all of this but it is what it is... So, before i started this post, i checked up on a few blogs that i follow and one is of The Feser Family. They have gone through many things this past year and I'd like to share (copy & paste) what she said today that I am really holding on to today!

When things seem like disaster to us; God is powerfully working in ways not possible if stuff had turned out that way we wanted it too.

What equals "good" and "bad" in God's math is totally different that the math of good and bad of this world. This world calls "bad" the sick, weak, and needy. In God's math our weakness and poverty of spirit are "good" (for us). Our pain, frustrations and great neediness is what causes us to call out to God. When we approach him with our brokenness and emptiness is when He swoops down and feeds us His riches. He fills us up with Himself and heals us. Then He shows us how to share His love with others. We share because God Stuff is too exciting and fantastic not to share.

Father in Heaven, thank you that Your ways are perfect and Your riches exceed our wildest dreams. Thank you when You reveal more of Your love to us in our pain and need. Help us when things seem bad here in our temporary home...to seek You and Your comfort. Use us Lord even our hardest times in this world to refine us and mold us into the children to You that You created us to be. Amen

I am broken today and waiting for God to feed me my riches...

Krispie Kremes - YUM!

2009-06-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

What a day! We feel truly blessed! Blessed to see how God's is working to help us bring Maylynn home. These past 2 weeks have been amazing and I still get teary eyed just thinking about it.

It was Lance's idea to try to sell Krispie Kremes - I knew it was going to be alot of work (and had my doubts) We had to sell 300 dozen doughnuts to make a good profit for our airplane tickets. We couldn't have done it with out our Jr.High Youth group! We were so thankful to our church's Jr. High Leaders for helping us get some volunteers. We had about 20 kids from our Youth group & a few family & friends help - isn't that amazing!! They all did such an awesome job and it was SO fun getting to know them better! I've heard that they had fun too:) Lance was planning on going to Spokane alone to pick up the doughnuts - i jokingly asked the boys if they'd want to drive up with Lance and Brayden immediately said YES! (Taylor is more like his mom and unfortunately prefers sleep:)) So, at 3:30am they headed up to Spokane - picked up the doughnuts at 5:30am and headed back to the Tri-Cities. They arrived just in time (luckily there were not cops out - Lance did a little speeding to make it in time) to meet the other "teams" and to give them their doughnuts. By 8:30 we were ready to let the selling begin! It was a bit slow... By 9:30 -we had sold maybe 10 boxes - i really had my doubts:( And then i remembered - i didn't pray about it. So I did! And i was reminded about Peter and him having doubts in Matthew 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" Why did i doubt? - Well, unfortunately that is the "flesh" in me and i'm so sorry that i did. You'd think that i'd learn by now not to doubt but it is SO easy to go there! God is SO faithful! The next thing i new it was 12:00 and we were down to 7 boxes left (at our location)!! AMAZING!! Then i heard that another location had sold out by 11:30! And our 3rd location just had about 20 left! by the end of the day we had sold 275 dozen doughnuts!!! I honestly did not think that we would be able to do that and was hoping just to break even BUT we didn't do it God did it!!!

God has answered prayers and has provided! We now have the amount that we've been praying about in order to bring Maylynn home! Praise God!

And a special thankyou to all of those "angels" that helped us by eating the doughnuts or selling the doughnuts or simply praying for us!

Here are some pictures courtesy of the Pickard's (can you believe that i forgot my camera!)

Maylynn's International Cafe - A Magical Night

2009-05-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

Lance Vickerman - Guest Blogger

My wife is on the road so I am your guest blogger today.

Last night was nothing short of magical. Jeff and Bonnie Brown (awesome friends from church) hosted "Maylynn's International Cafe" at their house -- an evening of dining, friendship...and love. I'm telling you that it was a night right up there with our wedding and the birth of our children.

Funds were raised for Maylynn's adoption. We were still a little short and now we nearly have our travel expenses coverered.

Things have been happening VERY fast this week. It's amazing to see the Lord at work. The really great part about the adoption journey...is the journey. That's where the growth occurs. We learned alot about faith, patience, and the Lord's timing when we adopted Hayliegh. Now we get to put that growth to use. There ave been some scary moments, but it's been fun to see the Lord working prety much the same way. He's so great :)

We have the most amazing friends and church. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who came and/or supported in other ways. We even had kids of all ages pitching in and helping. I know I would not have done that when I was their age and it was so inspiring to see. People were cooking, washing dishes, serving the customers. It was humbling. James 1:27 talks about helping orphans in their distress. You guys have done just that.

There is a little girl in China right now that is waiting to come home to our family. Last night took us one huge step closer to bringing her home. And, praise the Lord, she will be raised in a Christian home and will know Jesus.

This morning, Kirsten said she woke up in the middle of the night and thought it was all a dream. I would agree.

God Bless You All!

More paperwork for our I-800

2009-05-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow! I thought we were done with the paperwork but i guess not! Yesterday i spent at least 3 hours doing paperwork and i still need to do more for Lance's Visa. Yes you heard it - Lance is going with me! Such a relief to have made that decision - i am so happy -it brings tears to my eyes. We thought that we wouldn't have to make that determination until after we got our I-800 approval (the extra step that Hague requires now - and we are the first family from our agency to do it - lucky us! )- our agency has been great and on top of things so far:) But in order to fill out the I-800 you have to decide now! In my heart, i feel that it is the right decision and we are hoping that our loved one's will be okay at home without us... so, it's been really hard to focus on other things - I've been trying to get things going for the orphan conference that we are doing in the fall, getting our website going for that and several other things that have to do with our orphan ministry, but all i want to do now is get ready for bringing Maylynn home. I need to figure out if i should get her a matching dresser like Hayleigh's or just use the rubbermaid drawers that she used for the past 3 years - how i should rearrange the toys and stuff in their room - what size of clothes i should pull out and evaluate (although, i am waiting to hear her update height and weight) - start packing the toys we want to bring to China - start thinking about what we need to pack - i should probably print off some chinese phrases to catch up on... My brain is just going and going and i have 3 other children at home that i need to tend to - yikes! No wonder my brain hurt last night and i went to bed before they did!!

If you can't tell, we are so excited! A year ago, i wouldn't have thought that i'd be going to China to bring home another precious daughter! It is amazing what God can do is such a short amount of time -you just need to have your heart and mind open to what he's telling you to do:)

POST LOA TIP: Go online and fill out your I-800, DS-230 & I-864W form NOW!!! :)

LOA!!!

2009-05-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

We are so happy that after 80 long days of waiting that we finally received word that we have received our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) from China. I have to admit the past 30 days have been hard but the past 10 days have been extremely hard. I know it is God's timing and i need to be okay with that - this is a hard patience enduring process. I thought that i had learned about patience and perserverance enough with Hayleigh's process but i guess the Lord knew that i had more to learn...

What now??? Well, now we sign our LOA and return that back to our agency. Our agency then sends our LOA and some additional paperwork to the Dept. of State to get their approval (another LOA from them). They then send (cable) their approval to the Chinese Consulate who then sends approval (or something) to our agency. Then we wait for our Travel Approval from China - then we can make our Consulate Appt. and make reservations! So, i'm not sure of timing for all of this. We are praying that God's timing will be that we are in China the last 2 weeks of July... I'm not too sure that's going to be possible - but "all things are possible with God."

Your invited...

2009-05-21T14:59:00.001-07:00

Some friends are planning on putting together a dinner fundraiser to help us with some adoption expenses.

You’re invited to come have dinner or “just dessert” at
Maylynn’s International Café
Open-air seating with great food & friends
Friday May 29th
5:30-9:00pm
1304 Haupt, Richland
(overflow parking available at “Up town”)

Lance & Kirsten vickerman will be going to
China soon to bring home their new baby
Maylynn. DONATIONS given at this
Event will help them with expenses.

Please call in advance
(509)946-4249
Leave message of requested reservation time, no# in party, name & phone number

We’ll look forward to seeing you!
Jeff & Bonnie Brown & “Staff”

Patience...

2009-05-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

We are trying really, really hard to be patient. We know that God's timing is perfect but we'd really like to know what that is :) We have been waiting 70 days now for our LOA. Timing for this step in the process varies from 30-90 days. Our China liason mentioned last week that we should be hearing something this week. So please pray for us!

Another Praise!

2009-04-11T23:30:00.001-07:00

We have been diligently applying and praying for grants. We just found out that Ibsen Adoption Network has given us a grant - we are so thankful and are praising God for being so faithful!!

Please visit their website if you'd like to join their mailing list or just see what a great organization Ibsen is for Washington residents!

UPDATED PICTURES!

2009-04-07T13:25:00.001-07:00

Yippee!! We are overjoyed to have recieved some new pictures of our precious little girl! I just love her smile, her precious angel face and the split pants are just perfect! She seems to be playful and big.

We've heard that Guilin girls are "sassy" - so now our house will be filled with "Spicey and Sassy" girls:) We can't wait! :)

YARD SALE FUNDRAISER

2009-03-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Yard sales are ALOT of work but it was well worth it! We were blessed by many families that helped to contribute items and a few special friends that came to help us before with pricing and during the yard sale - a special thanks to them!!

Can you believe that i don't have a picture to post!!! We were so busy that i couldn't get away to snap a shot! We made $1200! We were told that we had the biggest yard sale in Kennewick - and we still have a garage full of stuff. We are trying to figure out what to do with the left overs - should we have another or give it to another family needing to raise $ (not sure who wants to do a yard sale though...) I think that if it wouldn't have rained, then we would have gotten rid of alot more - we were just thankful that there wasn't any wind and that it held out long enough for us to be blessed with what we made!

Care Package

2009-03-07T14:16:00.000-08:00

I have had a care package sitting in my bedroom for about 2 months - how sad? I guess a part of me was waiting for us to get logged in and a bit closer to be bringing her home... Her birthday is next month so i am really hoping that she gets it before then. I was going to send it directly to her orphanage (that's what we did with Hayleigh) but Maylynn is in foster care (or at least we think so...) So, when i asked our agency if this would be a good time to send her a package they suggested that i send it directly to Lily (the china coordinator) and then she would get it to Maylynn. Our agency said that this might also allow Lily to get an update on her. We so, so, desperately want an update -the last picture that we have of her is from June 2008 and the info is that old too... - so please pray for that;)

I couldn't fit everything in her package:( I was able to send a blanket (gma V made), an outfit, a couple of toys (Hayleigh and daddy picked out), some chocolate for the foster family and some questions and a camera. We also included a little picture album with the hopes that she will recognize us when we go to bring her home - hopefully, the foster family will prepare her for the transition.

What's Next???

2009-03-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

Many people (and myself) have been wondering what is the next step for us. Well, my agency cleared up some of my questions for us tonight...

We are waiting for our:

Letter of Approval (LOA) - wait time approx. 4 weeks (possibly beginning of April) - then-
Travel Approval (TA) - wait time approx 4 weeks (possibly beginning of May) - then -
Consulate Appointment (CA) - wait time approx. 3 days - then -
Travel - not too sure but it would depend on the CA, i think those are about 4-6 weeks out from the TA.

So, my best guess is June!

Please, please, please pray about whether or not Lance is suppose to come with me to China. I would love for him to be there with me for several of reasons but we are not sure about exactly what to do with the kids for 2 weeks and if we'll have the extra $$ for his plane ticket. And - please pray if he doesn't go with me: who will??? Any volunteers;)

LID

2009-03-03T09:58:00.001-08:00

A step closer... We just got word today that we are officially "Logged In" to the CCAA. We are excited to be a little closer in bringing Maylynn home.

We are trying to get a package out in the mail to her soon - i will blog more about that later...

The Tomorrow Plan

2009-02-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

Maylynn's cleft palate was repaired by the CCAA's Tomorrow Plan. We are so thankful for them and what they have done for her. Here is some information about them: click here to find out more

Dossier Done!!

2009-02-05T14:11:00.001-08:00

Yeah!! Our dossier is finally done! I was seriously hoping that it would have been done by the end of December!! :( But, that was my timing not God's...

So, it is now off to our agency (Lifeline Children's Services) for a quick pit stop before heading over to China to get logged in, which results in an LID date. Now we wait... our agency is guessing it may take about 2-3 weeks to get logged in. Then we wait for something else - not exactly sure what yet:)

We are praying that we can travel in June or July to bring Maylynn home - please join us in prayer...

A picture of the room where our dossier will probably end up in China...

Authentication

2009-01-16T16:12:00.000-08:00

Our dossier is ready to go to San Francisco - Off to the Chinese Consulate. Here each piece of paper gets a stamp and comes back to us... We have about 14 documents that i've spent about 2 hrs. making copies of and paper clipping just perfectly...

An Abundance of Blessings...

2009-01-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

WOW! What an amazing week! Here's an update of more blessings... So, earlier this week we had good news from our agency and then the next day we had a generous gift. Well, it didn't stop there! The next day we got an order for 80 crosses (we makes Disciple's Cross' -we started when we adopted Hayleigh) and we got our papers back from State Certification. Then today we got an offer on our trailer - we are praying that it will work out but we have some special "angels" out there that really want it and are wanting to help us out:)

Thank you so much for your prayers - we are just overjoyed!!!

Blessings...

2009-01-12T21:54:00.000-08:00

I feel that i need to share some wonderful blessings. I think that God gives us these blessings for several reasons and one is that they need to be shared so everyone can see how faithful and gracious He is!

Going into this adoption has taken alot more "thought". One of these major "thoughts" has been $$$$$$! Going into this adoption my DH and I agreed that we would rely fully on God to provide it and not taking a short term loan etc. (until we get taxes back to pay it off etc.) Of course, we are human, and as i shared with my bible study group - i've had some doubts about it -- not too sure where that $ will come from... I've had several of people share some scripture with me this week and here's one of them:

"Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus...fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned from me- everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you." (Phil. 4:6-8, NLT). thx-Amanda :)

So, we started this process with some money in savings but not nearly enough! We are hoping and trusting in God to provide. If it is His will - He will:) Well, the past 2 days have been overwhelming - i am still in tears as i write this... First, our agency has been gracious and has had some favor with us due to the transition from one agency to the next (long story...) but none the less - we are so grateful to them. They are a wonderful caring and compassionate agency. Then, we have just received a generous gift this evening - we were amazed. It was a huge surprise and just felt that it was a God moment. Of course after we hugged and thanked them profusely - we also gave glory to God knowing that he is so gracious. What an awesome gift and the timing is/was perfect:)

However, we still have quite a bit to gather. So, if you know of anyone that would like a travel trailer or anything else in our basement storage room - let us know;) We are hoping to have a yard sale in March or April - i might try to auction something off here - and we might try to sell Krispy Kremes in May. Oh - if anyone is interested in donating money to bringing home Maylynn, we've just put a paypal link here - click on the lady bug:):)

I also hope that this posting is encouraging to others adopting:) I am studying 1 Peter at church and we are talking about him being an encourager - Don't loose hope or faith - keep praying and trusting in Him... Don't take your eyes off of Him like Peter did when he walked on the water - he looked down (doubt) and began to fall until Jesus reached out and lifted him up - Just like he's done with us this week...

Blessings to you...

Dossier off to be Certified...

2009-01-11T19:09:00.000-08:00

We are becoming experts on how to use FedEx! And we aren't done yet!!!!!:):)

Our paperwork is off to Olympia to be certified. Which basically certifies that all of our notaries are ligit (and costs us approx. $200) :):) After they attach a special piece of paper to each and every document (13 of them) then they send them back to us so we can then send all of the docs (and more $$$) to San Francisco to be authenticated at the Chinese Consulate - Hopefully our papers will be back here by next week so we can send them to San Fran -

Please pray that they are certified with no problems and are returned quickly!

USCIS Approval!

2008-12-29T09:33:00.000-08:00

We recieved an email this morning that we are approved through the Department of Homeland Security (aka. I 800-a approval through USCIS) to adopt from China! We should be getting the official notice in the mail by the end of this week.

Our next step is to get all of our notarized documents for our dossier certified in Olympia. After those come back, we send them to the US Consulate to get Authenticated. Then all of the documents/dossier gets translated and sent to China.

A wonderful Gift... Our PA

2008-12-24T09:12:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful Christmas Gift! We finally got our Pre Approval today! We have until March 23rd to get our paperwork to China and then they will do a final review (i think i have that info. correct:))

Isn't she just precious!!! Hayleigh asks EVERYDAY if we are getting Maylynn today... She is really excited to be getting a sister:)

A quick update...

2008-12-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

1. We are still waiting for our fingerprint approval from USCIS - it should be here before Dec. 25th... We'll see:)
2. We have gone ahead and are trying to get some out of state documents certified and authenticated - i hope to have that completed by next week.
3. We signed and returned to our agency the "official" Letter of Intent.
4. We are waiting to hear if we've recieved our pre-approval from CCAA to adopt Maylynn - once we have, i think i can post a pic and send her a package:)
5. We are trying to sell our travel trailer to use the equity for the adoption.
5. We just found out the CCAA is raising the orphanage fee by $2000 dollars - big bummer! Not too sure how that's going to affect us yet... i guess the equity in the trailer will be a "wash"... Oh well.

We are hoping to bring her home in April or May - we'll see what God has planned though:)

Introducing our new daughter!

2008-11-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

God is so amazing! And His Timing is not always our Timing:):) - Boy, we sure weren't expecting to get a referral already but we are really excited and can't wait to bring our new daughter home! She is perfect! It is so cool to look back to see how He has had her planned for us... Beginning with Kay and not being able to adopt her because our paperwork wasn't ready in time and putting adoption on our hearts again - then going to China and falling in love with some children only to find out that they were already matched or had severe special needs - then coming home and being matched with a daughter which has all of the things that I had been praying for: age, special need, and in a foster home - God is soooo Good! With getting a referral so soon - it was also very cool to see how the Holy Spirit spoke to both Lance and myself separately (he was in Seattle this weekend - which is also cool b/c i was supposed to be with him but b/c we just got a puppy - i stayed home to puppy sit and in turn was able to get the email referral!!) We are really excited to be on this adoption journey again and to see God's hand at work.

So.... Here she is! Due to CCAA regulations we can not give specific details that may identify her - if you would like to know more, you can email me directly (kirstvick@hotmail.com) and i can try to let you know more:)

Her chinese name means pure and peace as water. She was born in April 2007 and was abandoned at the gate the hospital. She has been fostered by a family since July 2007. She had surgery to repair her cleft palate in April 2008. Her report looks like she is developing very normally and will fit in perfectly with our family. We feel so blessed and can't wait to bring her home.

We are praying about a name for her... we are thinking that it may be Maylin R.......(chinese name) Vickerman (it fits with the name pattern that we have for the other kiddos: Taylor Ryen, Brayden Reade, Hayleigh Rae Fukai- it's neat that her chinese name starts with an "R" and fits the pattern already - we may also add an american middle name - not sure though...)

In the next few weeks we should be able to put a picture up.

We are hoping to get our fingerprint approvals in the next few weeks and then we can get our dossier certified and authenticated... Then we wait for Travel approval etc.. etc... It could be sometime this spring when I/we travel:)

Kay's Orphanage is coming to get her...

2008-10-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

On Friday, we also found out from Harmony Outreach that Kay's orphanage (where she was originally placed in) will be picking her up on Oct. 27th to take her back there so she can be adopted to her family on Nov. 10th. Harmony tried really hard to talk them into waiting until after i came but they insisted on the 27th.

At first i was really sad - i am still dissappointed that i will never be able to meet the precious little girl that we wanted and tried to adopt into our family. We know now that God used her to get us to this place in our lives - for us to adopt again. To trust Him and to have faith that His plan will be revealed soon.

After praying about not meeting her, i have come to realize that the Lord doesn't want me to be distracted while i am on this journey. He has waited 3 years to send me on this trip. He wants me to be able to focus on the work that He has planned for me and to be able to do it whole heartedly. ----- I do have a friend here that happens to be adopting from the same agency as Kay's family and will more than likely be meeting up with her and her family at the White Swan. So, i am praying that they will be able to meet and give Kay's family our contact information:)

Kay's Adoption Day is Nov.10th

2008-10-21T22:00:00.001-07:00

Oh my, my, my... I am so glad to find out that Kay will still be at Harmony when i'm there in 10 days!!. However, I just found out that Kay will be adopted to her new family too, while i am there on Nov. 10th. I am so, so, very happy for her. Even though it will probably be very hard on my heart, i really would like to be there when she meets her new family. Please pray with me if this is God's will. I would love to meet her new family.
Also, i am trying to think of a simple meaningful gift for her and her new family. I know that i've never actually met her in person, but i do feel that she has been in our family for the past year as we have sponsored her, prayed for her and have tried to adopt her. So, if you have any ideas - please let me know ASAP!! :):)

Fingerprints!

2008-10-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Fingerprints!!On Tues. Oct. 14th, Lance and i headed to Yakima for our 8am appt. to do our I800 USCIS fingerprints. They have come along way in the past 4 yrs! Now it's all computerized - no inky mess! The people were very friendly despite the intimidating entrance - Before you could even walk into the building a guard came out to check our appt. letter and then made us turn off our cell phone before we could enter and walk through the metal detector. After that, it was all smiles and very friendly people:) I'm feeling like we need to maybe start a blog for our next daughter and how our journey began for her - but that will have to wait until a later date!! :)

Happy Birthday Kay...

2008-10-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Kay
On Monday, it was Kay's birthday (same as mine:)). We had sent her a package of birthday presents a few weeks ago. Harmony Outreach is so sweet, they sent us some pictures of her opening her presents and celebrating her birthday. They also sent a picture of her family that will be adopting her. It is a couple from Iowa. I still havent' found out if she will be there while i am there in a few weeks...

Kay's Matched...

2008-08-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Kay...
I am so happy for Kay! We just found out this morning that she was matched with a family from Holt Adoption Agency. I am sure she will be going to a very loving family that will love her as much as we do. We were a bit surprised this morning to find this out - we had hoped that we had a few more weeks before she'd be show up on the list and be matched. We just got our homestudy done yesterday- our agency did an amazing job trying to rush to get it done. We will continue on down this path for another daughter. We feel that God had used Kay to lead us in this direction. We are curious and excited to see what He has planned for us. Thank you to everyone that was praying for us - please continue to lift Kay up in prayer.
God Bless...

5th Post...

2008-08-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday, August 07, 2008

A little bit of hope lost...It's funny how quickly things can turn. Just yesterday we had great hope that we would be adopting Kay. Then this morning we received word that the orphanage will not write a letter for various reasons. So, we are left wondering what now? Do we continue to finish our dossier with hopes to adopt Kay - the chances are that China will require a family with their dossier completed when she appears on the list - but that's the questions: when will she appear on the list - in 1 month, or 3 months? we do not know... So, what happens if we are almost done with our dossier but still are not close enough to being done to adopt Kay? do we try to adopt another precious little girl? Or is God saying to us "Now is not the time." So many questions... we are praying about all of these things right now - please pray with us too...

We also recieved an update in the mail about her with a picture. Here is what it said: Kay is a happy and very active little girl. She moves quickly and keeps her nannies on their toes with her mischievous nature. She walks very well and climbs up and down stairs on her own. Kay is a good sleeper and has a daily routine of eating, playing and napping. She has a bright and cheerful disposition, is fond of music, and will nod her head along with the rhythm. She is very smart and likes to imitate her nanny or the other children's actions. She can tell by her nany's facial expression if she did something right or wrong. She also is able to draw a straight line with a pencil or crayon.

It sounds like she'd fit in perfectly here!!! Her birthday is the same as mine - Oct. 6th. So, we will be putting together a bday package for her soon too:)

4th Post...

2008-08-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Kay Update
We are feeling a little bit more hope... It looks like Kay's orphanage might write a letter on our behalf. We are praying that this gets done in a timely manner - (like REALLY FAST! :)) It then needs to be sent to the Province's civil affairs bureau and then to CCAA. We are also praying that CCAA will show favor upon us and hold Kay's file until our file is closer to being done. We have NO IDEA if any of these things will happen - it is all in God's Hands. We feel that we are really taking true steps of faith in this. We have an accepted application with Lifeline (our agency) and we are getting our homestudy updated. We traveled to Spokane today for our first homestudy visit and to get some more questions answered with our agency. We will have another visit in a few weeks... in the mean time, we have just a couple paperwork items to complete. After our homestudy is done, we will file a I-800a with the Homeland Security to get approval from our gov't. Because of the new Hague Accreditation requirements, this has sometimes taken awhile (like 3 months!! ) So, when that time comes we will need prayers for a quick approval! ::) So, we are just praying, doing paper work, praying and doing more paperwork...
ps. we will not be able to post any pictures of Kay until we have everything secured.
But here's a picture of China. Kay's orphanage is in Urumqi on the FAR left side of China! Actually, this area has been in the news quite a bit lately with some icky stuff that is getting publicity b/c of the Olympics... yikes! Hayleigh was from Chongqing (it is the green province in the picture below)

3rd Post...

2008-07-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Kay Updated Update!!!!!
We just got word tonight that our agency has found Kay’s file at the CCAA. A few things that we need to pray for now are:* That my agency is able to lock her file in because her special need is very minor, she will probably go to a list that is shared with all agencies or that they just go ahead and put her on my agencies list of special need children (very unlikely – but you never know);*That once my agency secures her file – that CCAA will have favor upon us to adopt her without being dossier ready (most children with minor needs like this go to families that are already logged in – we are not) – we are trying to get the orphanage to send letter to the CCAA stating that we financially support her and are hoping the CCAA will show us favor.So, that is where we are at! Please pray for all of this and God’s direction and timing.
Well, it's been awhile since i've updated the blog with info about Kay... and that's mostly because we don't have any new information. However, we have not lost hope! We pray for her everyday and Hayleigh asks about her sister Kay daily too. God's timing is so good - Lily sent us some pictures of Kay this morning! I just LOVE them! I can't wait to squeeze her and kiss those cheeks. And i say that because no matter what happens - i will be doing that when i go there in November:) We still have no new information - everyone is still looking for her file. So, please keep praying that "my people" (agency and H.O.) will find her file and that we will be able to "lock" her file in before ANYONE else!!! And of course for God's timing for everything:):)

2nd Post...

2008-06-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

June 26, 2008,

Kay update...Shortly after my last post we got word from Harmony Outreach that Kay's file is at the CCAA and hasn't been picked by a family! We quickly let our agency know and they agreed to help. Although, they tried to find her file and they can't find it!! So please pray that her file is located and that our agency, Small World, is able to lock it in!! So, in the mean time, we are get our dossier together with the hopes that Kay will be our daughter.

The picture above is her playing and wearing some of the things that we recently sent to her and other kids at Harmony Outreach. If anyone is interested in helping us put together another package, please let me know. They need "trousers" and shoes for children ages 3-36months.

First Post...

2008-06-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

A Heavy Heart...
Well, I'd like to introduce you to Kay. She is the absolute precious little girl that we sponsor at Harmony Outreach http://www.harmonyoutreach.org/ As soon as she was announced to be in the care of Harmony, we fell in love with her and began sponsoring her. She was abandoned probably because of the one-child policy and her need for surgery for her cleft lip. She will be 2 on Oct. 6th (my bday). While John Bentley was here for the fundraiser we did for Harmony, he mentioned that he thought that her file was at the CCAA for international adoption. We have been praying about adopting her ever since. Our hearts are heavy right now because we have tried several different angles on trying to adopt her. It is "illegal" in China to pre-identify a child but it has been done before. It seems that with the way the "Waiting Child" program has began to change, that it will be next to impossible for us to adopt her. We have called a few agencies but we haven't been able to find one that will help us. The China director of the agency that we used to adopt Hayleigh has stopped taking applications because of the new waiting child policies- we were hoping that based on our past relationship with them that they would help but they too said that it would be impossible... Although - "With God anything is possible."
I really would like Hayleigh to have a sister from China, i guess it is just not God's timing right now.